A television show with a cross-dressing reincarnation of a Christian revolutionary & a host who puts guests in touch with their past lives is drawing mass audiences in a country where spiritualism has a long tradition. Hiroyuki Ehara's books have sold more than 7 milllion copies on Japan, & the bearded self-anointed "spiritual counselor" is making a fortune in television, publishing, public appearances, & high priced private "counseling" sessions.

Observers of Japanese culture say long-standing fascination with life after death,exemplified in traditional Shinto, & current anxieity about work, famly, & economics are the sources of the current surge in interest in spiritual contacts.

"Spiritualism has always been an undercurrent in Japanese society," observed Toji Kamata, professor of religion at Kyoto University of Art & Design. He noted that after 9/11, "People came to the realization that religion is something that can't be ignored," adding, "Japanese also suffered a loss of identity as they began to doubt Western values."

For the full story: Japanese turn to Past Lives for Comfort.