Pope Francis arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Saturday evening, becoming the second Pope to visit Japan.
His predecessor, Pope St John Paul II, came to Japan in 1981, and left a lasting mark on the local Catholic Church.
Vatican said that that Pope St John Paul II’s visit helped change the way Japanese people viewed the Church’s role in society. The Polish Pope visited Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and both Tokyo Dome and Sophia University during his historic visit.
Pope Francis travels to Nagasaki and Hiroshima on Sunday, and spends Monday and Tuesday in Tokyo, where he will visit the same Jesuit-run university and celebrate Mass at the Tokyo Dome.
Japanese medias write that Pope Francis’ missionary visit will have a lasting impact on both the country and the local Church.
