The Japanese bishops´ conference has published Mass timetables and the addresses of Catholic churches in the country, in order to facilitate attendance at Mass by visiting soccer fans.
It also has a Web site, www.cbcj.catholic.jp/2002/.
The bishops plan to have Masses celebrated in various languages, and will publish the timetables in areas close to the stadiums where the World Cup games will be played.
Japan´s 126 million people include only about 500,000 Catholics. Most Japanese profess Shintoism — a religion based on the veneration of ancestors and nature — or Buddhism, with more than 200 variations and schools.
The World Cup Championship begins May 31 and will be contested in two countries: South Korea and Japan. The final will be held in Yokohama on June 30.
