Japan is often admired for its strong moral culture. Many people value fairness, social responsibility, and care for others. Volunteer activities, disaster relief efforts, and community service are widely respected, and these qualities were especially evident during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Another example is the Japan national rugby union team was widely praised when players left their changing room clean and tidy after a World Cup match. In many ways, Japanese society demonstrates a deep concern for what we might call “social justice.”
Yet the question Christians must ask is not simply whether good actions are done, but what ultimately motivates those actions. The Bible affirms the importance of justice, but it also points to a deeper foundation for it.
In Scripture, justice is not first a list of rules or moral principles. Justice begins with the character of God Himself. Because God is just, everything He does expresses that justice.
The Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck observed that Scripture presents two dimensions of God’s justice:
1. Retributive justice – God punishes wrongdoing and holds evil accountable.
2. Restorative justice – God restores those who suffer injustice and lifts up the weak.
This concept is also clearly seen in the Old Testament through the Hebrew words Tzadiq / Tzedeqah (righteousness/justice; e.g., Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 16:19; Micah 6:8; Job 29; 31). These terms carry the meaning of “giving people their due.”
This leads us to two important aspects of justice. One is giving people their due in the form of accountability or punishment for wrongdoing. The other is giving people their due according to their human dignity, which calls us to restore and defend those who suffer from injustice.
While many people in Western societies primarily think of punishment when they hear the word “justice,” and many in Japan tend to think more about merciful acts toward those in need, the Bible holds both dimensions together, justice includes punishment for wrongdoing and restoration for those who suffer injustice.
God stands firmly against perverting justice through bribery, oppression, or the mistreatment of the vulnerable. Scripture repeatedly condemns accepting bribes and denying justice to the poor (Deuteronomy 16:19; Proverbs 17:23), exploiting foreigners, widows, and orphans (Exodus 22:21–24; Zechariah 7:9–10), and harming the innocent (Proverbs 6:16–19).
At the same time, the Bible calls for the restoration and defence of those who suffer injustice. God commands His people to actively seek justice, defend the oppressed, and care for the vulnerable (Isaiah 1:17; Proverbs 31:8–9). The righteous are described as those who protect and restore the needy, “delivered the poor who cried for help… and broke the fangs of the unrighteous ” (Job 29:12–17). Scripture repeatedly connects God’s justice with His mercy and compassion. Justice in the Bible is therefore not cold legality; it is deeply connected to God’s gracious love.
In Japan, moral responsibility is often rooted in social harmony, cultural expectations, and a desire to be a “good person.” These motivations are not necessarily wrong. In fact, they often produce admirable behavior.
However, there is a subtle danger. Sometimes good deeds can become a way to affirm our own righteousness. Helping others can make us feel morally superior, or at least reassure us that we are decent people. In that case, acts of justice are ultimately centered on ourselves, our reputation, our conscience, or our sense of satisfaction.
The Bible challenges this foundation. Scripture teaches that true justice does not ultimately grow out of human moral effort. Instead, it grows out of experiencing the mercy of God.
The gospel tells us something surprising: before we are people who do justice, we are first sinners who deserve God’s judgment and people who need God’s mercy. God is indeed the Judge of the world. The Bible teaches that He will hold evil accountable and that one day He will judge the world in righteousness (Psalm 9:7–8; Acts 17:31). Yet the same God who judges also shows astonishing mercy to sinners (Exodus 34:6–7; Ephesians 2:4–5).
Because we ourselves have received undeserved grace, our attitude toward others changes. Justice is no longer about proving our own goodness; it becomes an expression of gratitude for God’s kindness. When we realize that we have been forgiven and loved by God, we begin to see others differently. The poor are no longer merely social problems to solve, because we recognize that we ourselves are spiritually poor before God (Matthew 5:3). The weak are not opportunities for moral achievement, because we acknowledge that we too have failed to obey God in every way (Romans 3:23). The marginalized are people who share the same need for grace that we do, because we ourselves were once outsiders separated from God (Ephesians 2:12–13). Our compassion becomes genuine because it flows from humility—we realize that in many ways we are “them.”
This is why biblical justice always includes mercy. God does not only punish evil; He also restores the broken. The Bible promises a future when God will renew all things and establish a world where justice truly reigns—a new creation where suffering, evil, and death are gone (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:3–5). Christians therefore pursue justice not merely as a moral duty, but as a reflection of God’s own heart. When believers care for the poor, defend the weak, or serve those in need, they are responding to something they themselves have already received: the mercy of God (Micah 6:8; James 2:13).
Japanese society already values kindness, fairness, and social responsibility. These are beautiful qualities. Christianity does not reject them; rather, it invites us to look deeper. Instead of beginning with the thought, “I must be a good person,” the gospel begins with the realization, “God has shown me mercy.”
From that mercy flows a different kind of justice, one that is not motivated by self-affirmation, but by deep gratitude, humility, and awe at God’s love.
True justice grows from a heart that has first encountered the grace of God. When we experience that grace, caring for others is no longer about feeling morally good or fulfilling an obligation. It becomes a joyful response to the kindness we ourselves have received.
For further reflection
Manager A at an IT company had recently been observing a situation where his colleague, B, was being unfairly treated by their superior, Manager C. C was repeatedly assigning all last-minute tasks only to B and severely criticizing B for minor mistakes in front of everyone.
Although compliance regulations are progressing, in Japanese offices, voicing disagreement with a superior's authority tends to be taboo. Everyone else looked the other way, and B was isolated amidst the quiet pressure for conformity. Manager A was conflicted, worrying that his action might disrupt harmony in the workplace, but he first explored his inner motives to confirm that his drive was one of restorative justice, responding to God's mercy (awarenmi).
Following this, Manager A first showed empathy to B and arranged an opportunity to listen to him in private. While acknowledging B's feelings of "pain", he carefully proceeded with fact-finding regarding the specific instructions and incidents. Manager A was aware of the rumor that C was facing family issues, but he did not treat this as an excuse for the injustice. However, strategic action was required because, in the Japanese context, where differing opinions and diversity are difficult to acknowledge, speaking out alone could expose not only B but also A himself to greater risk.
Manager A respected B's wishes regarding what he wanted to do, and ultimately suggested consulting a trusted contact in the Human Resources department. A himself offered to provide support, strictly limiting his role to calmly presenting objective work records and facts, with B's permission.
This action was not a dramatic whistleblowing event. There was no guarantee that Manager C would immediately change his behavior, nor was it certain that HR would respond swiftly. However, A's step became a small step that conveyed the message, "You are not alone," to B, who had been in solitude and despair. Manager A admitted that he could not fully establish justice in this broken world, yet, having confirmed he was moved by God's mercy, he calmly presented a path for B's dignity restoration, instead of succumbing to peer pressure. This was because it began with exploring his inner motives, and rather than excessive intervention—fighting on B’s behalf—or retreating into indifference to protect himself, he sought the best possible "Strategic Justice" he could execute in his position.
Author: CTCJ Collaborative Writing Team
In 2025, CTCJ set out a new vision to become a thought leader in the field of urban church planting in Japan. The Collaborative Writing Team (Co-writing Team) is one of the ways we are working towards this goal. The team is made up of a core group of staff members, as well as a number of writers and editors from diverse backgrounds, who work together to produce articles on topics that are useful for church planters, with the gospel as the foundation and focus.