The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume Shint ist rituals can often be observed among Japan s corporate groups any events that would be secular in the est involve a brief Shint ritual in Japan for example, whenever a new factory manager is appointed, he traditionally has to visit a minishrine installed at a cozy corner of the factory grounds, where he says a prayer for safety during his work day At the groundbreaking ceremony or at the startup of a new facility, be it a high-tech or a smoke-stack industry, a Shintō priest is always invited to perform the purification and exorcism rituals In the case of Toyota Motors, for example, top executives play out corporate rituals every autumn at the Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture, the spiritual home of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu—here they unveil their newest models, making the three-hour drive from their headquarters near Nagoya Shintō is thus firmly embedded in today’s corporate society.29 Although most Japanese follow many Shintō traditions throughout life, they actually regard themselves as being devoted to their community’s local shrine and kami rather than to a countrywide religion So many Japanese don’t think that they are practicing Shintō nor are followers of a Shintō religion, even though what they is effected by concepts and teachings of Shintōism, just like any other faith practice we have studied ~ 301 ~