Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi was born on 1 November 1958 in the Prefecture of Iwate, Japan, in the Diocese of Sendai. He professed his solemn vows in the Congregation of the Divine Word Missionaries (Verbites) in March 1985 and was ordained a priest in March 1986, completing further studies at the Spiritual Institute of the Sacred Heart in Melbourne, Australia. From 1986 to 1992 he served as a missionary in the Archdiocese of Accra and the Diocese of Koforidua in Ghana.
Back in Japan he worked as a formator of Verbites postulants (1994–1999) and from 1999 as Provincial Superior of the Verbites in Japan, while also serving as executive director of Caritas Japan. Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Niigata on 29 April 2004; he received episcopal ordination on 20 September 2004. Pope Francis named him Metropolitan Archbishop of Tokyo on 25 October 2017. He led Caritas Asia from 2011 to 2019.
In May 2023 Kikuchi was elected president of Caritas Internationalis for a four-year term (2023–2027), a role he still held in 2025. Pope Francis created him a cardinal in the consistory of 7 December 2024, assigning him the titular church of San Giovanni Leonardi; he is a member of the Dicasteries for Communication, for Promoting Integral Human Development, and for Interreligious Dialogue. He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Consequential Quotes
Caritas must be on the front lines to welcome, accompany, serve and defend the poor and vulnerable.
So, this is the real mission of Caritas: to help people know they are not forgotten. We want to be with them.
What we do is not only provide food or materials or any kind of assistance, but rather we want to be witnesses of the love of God to show people that this is how God loves all people.
As Caritas, we want to walk with people in their difficulties, to be with them and create hope for the future.
The main aim of our work is to create hope, not to create people who are disappointed or in despair because they are forgotten.
Major Works & Initiatives
Executive Director of Caritas Japan
Executive director of Caritas Japan from 1999 to 2004, after volunteering with Caritas in 1995 at a Rwandan refugee camp at Bukavu, Zaire — where a camp leader's plea, 'tell them that we are still here: we are all forgotten,' fixed his conviction that no one Caritas serves should be made to feel forgotten.
President of Caritas Japan
President of Caritas Japan from 2007 to 2022.
President of Caritas Asia
President of Caritas Asia from 2011 to 2019, and a member of the Representative Council of Caritas Internationalis.
President of Caritas Internationalis
Elected in May 2023 to a four-year term (2023–2027) as president of Caritas Internationalis, the confederation of Catholic charities, succeeding Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.
Sources
- Holy See Press Office — biography
- Wikipedia
- National Catholic Register (CNA) — Tokyo Archbishop Elected New President of Caritas Internationalis, 15 May 2023
- National Catholic Reporter — New Caritas leaders vow to respect employees, 16 May 2023
- Radio Veritas Asia — interview, 'Our mission is to promote hope, not despair'