Japan’s Buddhist temples struggle as Covid-19 leads to smaller donations One Zen temple has developed a meditation app that’s been downloaded more than 15,000 times that it expects to eventually monetise 08 March 2021 - 10:07 Ayai Tomisawa Visitors walk towards Tsukiji Hongwanji temple in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, February 2 2021. Picture: BLOOMBERG/NORIKO HAYASHI
Tokyo Memorial services held online. Zen meditation apps. Buddhist temple-led matchmaking services.
As the coronavirus pandemic forces institutions around the world to change the way they do things, those new endeavours are some of the ways that Buddhist groups in Japan are trying to survive. Their temples are part of the landscape: there are about 77,000, more than the number of Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores.
As the pandemic forces institutions around the world to change the way they do things, new endeavors are some of the ways that Buddhist groups in Japan are trying to survive.