Japanese journalist baptized in the 'Mariupol’ chaplain battalion

Pastor and military chaplain Hennadiy Mokhnenko, who is currently volunteering with the chaplain battalion "Mariupol" in the most dangerous areas of the front, shared this with Ukrinform.

"Takashi came to us for the first time more than a year ago to record an interview with me... He, a person of a different culture, who has been observing the work of our chaplain battalion for a whole year, says: 'You risk your lives every day to help people, and I want to become a Christian like you. This is such a good testimony.' And we baptized him on Catholic Easter, April 9. After we baptized him, he took his first communion in his life," Mokhnenko said.

The chaplain explained that Takashi worked and continues to work with many foreign publications. "His publication was in the legendary Newsweek. I have seen many different publications with reports. He writes to newspapers and magazines," the pastor clarified.

According to Mokhnenko, when he gave an interview to a Japanese journalist over a year ago, he soon forgot about it, but then Takashi himself reminded them that he started helping the chaplain battalion in the front-line areas and in the east and south of Ukraine.

"I gave a short interview, then forgot about it. Then, after a couple of weeks, I saw that he went to the front with us, then started traveling with my teams to different front-line towns, and saw how he worked as a warehouse loader. I asked our guys about him, and they told me that he rented an apartment in Zaporizhzhia and started helping us. So he has been working with our team for a whole year," Mohenko said.

The pastor clarified that Takashi travels to all active fronts - he was in the east, goes to Kherson and helps distribute humanitarian aid to those in need. He also continues to work as a journalist.