The Japanese are already waiting for Pope Francis' visit with impatience and enthusiasm, anxious to best prepare for the Pope's trip to Japan, scheduled for November. To date, the date of the trip is the only certainty about the apostolic visit of the Holy Father, who announced it himself last January, in the flight that took him to Panama for World Youth Day. . A few days later, Japanese Catholics had called on the pope to speak out against nuclear weapons. On August 6, Japan is preparing to remember the bombing of Hiroshima, which struck the city on August 6, 1945.

During his trip to Japan, scheduled for November 2019, Pope Francis is expected to meet survivors of nuclear attacks, according to local sources. No official statement has yet been released, but some Japanese media say the pope will visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki on November 24. Vatican sources explain that for the moment, everything is on hold because the Holy See is planning a three-day stint in Thailand. However, the new Thai government formed by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha was appointed only in mid-July, following the June 5 national elections, and is still in the process of getting organized. Some sources believe that an announcement should be made by the end of the month. Despite the lack of official information, the city of Hiroshima is already preparing to receive Pope Francis"Our people, who survived the atomic bomb, are very eager to meet him. Everyone is sure that he will make a pronouncement on this occasion for a world without war, " says the local Church, which assures that despite the lack of details about the pope's visit, the city is ready to welcome him with " a lot of enthusiasm . A Catholic, who prefers to remain anonymous, explains that "we just want the pope, as an influential figure in the whole world, to send a message of peace to the world from Hiroshima, to support the total abolition of nuclear weapons." In addition to the joy and excitement, the expectation of the Japanese is also mixed with a concern typically Japanese approaching the Pope's journey, so that"His visit is perfect from every point of view and nothing can happen to him". A Catholic adds, however, that "we know that the Holy Spirit guides the Pope and that our joy will be great, because through him we will meet Jesus". This will be the second visit of a pope to Japan, after that of St. John Paul II in February 1981.

(Source: Églises d'Asie - le 27/07/2019, With Asianews)