Who cares?

[It's] their [sic] wedding, so who cares what they do?

(Anonymous poster on an internet forum).

There is opposition from the Catholic Church and most Protestant streams. There is also opposition from individual Christians and atheists; Japanese and otherwise.

The Episcopal Conference of Japan clarified the position of the Catholic Church in 1975. Priests may perform a wedding blessing for non-Catholics on condition that they take part in discussions on topics including relationships and having children for between three and five months. www.thingsasian.com

The conditions required by the Catholic Church are enough of a hurdle for most couples to baulk at and seek less of a demand from a more liberal agent to help celebrate their wedding.

www.starnewsonline.com

Japanese law requires Celebrants to have an appropriate visa. The Spouse of Japanese visa enables foreigners to take on any gainful employment in all spheres. The other visa which is acceptable is the visa for Religious Activities. This is because Japanese law tries to ensure that the priests are actually bona fide practitioners of Religion. Although it is not a totally comprehensive measure, it is clear that this provision in Civil Law (in place to protect consumers) is concerned whether the priests are real or not. From the perspective of Japanese Law, Christian-style weddings are not neatly bracketed a part of the ‘Entertainment Industry’.

The Fukuoka branch of the immigration department and the police are cracking down on "bogus priests." Media in the region recently have reported that certain hotels have been using foreigners on teaching visas to perform Christian wedding ceremonies, an activity that is legally permitted only with a religious visa.

(Japan Times)

On the understanding that there is this provision in Law, clients are predisposed to believe that the Celebrant is at least a believer and probably an ordained minister of religion.

In November (2003 sic), the Fukuoka branch of the Immigration Bureau warned a local hotel for letting a noncleric Canadian on a tourist visa conduct wedding ceremonies.

"No working visa except a religious visa allows foreigners to receive regular payment for conducting wedding services," an official at the bureau said, adding that companies that regularly hire noncleric foreigners will also face penalties.

But he said the bureau is not in a position to judge whether a Christian-style wedding constitutes a religious practice, adding that unordained foreigners with permanent residency can conduct such services.

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There are non-Christian Japanese who find the matter of Japanese Christian-style weddings to be something of a national embarrassment. There must be very few countries in the world which have to contend with perennial 'Fake Priest' headlines.

...in the case of a Christian wedding when the couple and the people there are mostly non-Christian. They try to mimic singing a hymn with little success. On these occasions I feel so embarrassed I want to hide behind a pillar or something. It's a world of comical nonsense. Japan Times

Professor Inoue Masao of Doshisha University was more forceful in his opinion about Japanese Christian-style weddings:

[The Church] completely repudiates the other side's belief as "heresy" [he has Shinto in mind]. Can the Church be serious in blessing the weddings of "nonbelievers"? After all, are not nonbelievers really "headed for damnation"? What meaning can it possibly have to be a "one-day Christian" just for a wedding?
Nanzan Bulletin Pg.38

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So who does decide whether or not something is a religious practice? How can the Immigration Bureau and the Police enforce the law if they are not in a position to judge whether or not the law is being adhered to? The author is seeking expert guidance from a Japanese Christian lawyer in this regard.