Tokyo woman and rapper confront the need for Jehovah’s Witness children to be able to communicate religious harm, asks for government cooperation

“…children find themselves in dire situations where it is virtually impossible to speak their minds…”

iidabii, Japanese rapper uses words to cure ills of abusive religious upbringing, as former Jehovah’s Witness—Mainichi

Lloyd Barry, now deceased, served as a missionary in Japan for over 25 years—he and his wife arrived at Yokohama, to begin serving “where the need was great” on Halloween, October 31, 1949. Barry served as the Japanese branch overseer from 1952 until he left Japan for Brooklyn “Bethel” as the newest member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses amidst the “stay alive until 1975” campaign.

This was his territory. Mr. Barry could not be reached for comment.

The fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by the son of a follower of the Unification Church focused worldwide attention on the issue of parents who force their children to adhere to religious faiths through psychological or even physical abuse…

A young woman in her 30’s in Japan who was raised as a third-generation Jehovah’s Witness has opened up about her past, sharing her personal story, including abuse from her parents, in a meeting held by opposition parties in the Diet on Nov. 7.

“Second- and third-generation children do not have the means to communicate the harm done to them. I’d like Diet members from various parties to cooperate to handle this issue,” the woman commented.

When I am silent and do nothing
Then I’m no better than those adults
I’m done letting the other me
Die out there somewhere

Witness of Abuse, iidabii (YouTube)

Her voice was joined by that of the 31-year-old second-generation Japanese rapper iidabii, styled by the local newspaper, Mainichi, as an “unlikely savior to those suffering religious abuse.”

In “Witness of Abuse,” iidabii details a speech impediment he developed as a result of his treatment, rapping, “I lost words… that was the beginning of the stuttering problem that still continues into my adult life.”

He noticed at one point he had even forgotten how to laugh. But iidabii came to a crossroads in his third year of junior high school one day when he confessed to his mother of wanting to “play music in a band.” His feelings of repression erupted as his mother admonished him for the “absurdity of music.”

When he told her outright he no longer wished to practice the religious faith, iidabii says, amid tears, she said he was “possessed by demons” and “a devil child.” They yelled at each other and got into a scuffle. From that day onward, he stopped attending meetings. “We weren’t a family from the beginning,” he raps.

iidabii, Japanese rapper uses words to cure ills of abusive religious upbringing, as former Jehovah’s Witness—Mainichi

Meanwhile, the Watchtower of Jehovah’s Witnesses is celebrating 50 years of printing at the Japan branch, according to a news release. Jehovah’s witness children worldwide can recall peddling those magazines door-to-door worldwide, at a cost. Today Watchtower material is available online at jw.org.

---

Continue to follow this developing story via Japanese news sources, Mainichi, and The Japan Times.

You can support iidabii online by sharing his music and adding commentary to his lyrics on Genius.com.

Sources

• 3rd-gen Jehovah’s Witness in Japan opens up about dark past before opposition parties, Mainichi
• Children troubled by parents’ religion want ‘exit’ system: survey, Mainichi
• Japanese rapper uses words to cure ills of abusive religious upbringing (1 of 2), Mainichi
• Japanese rapper iidabii proving unlikely savior to those suffering religious abuse (2 of 2), Mainichi
• Street poet turns to words to help cure ills of abusive religious upbringing, The Japan Times