In the U.S. and European countries the newspapers all criticized the villainous outrage and public opinion also grew stronger, so the then Japanese charge d'affaires to the U.S., Arinori MORI, wrote "Religious Freedom in Japan" stating that it was difficult to hold on to the anti-Christian policy, which was followed by some people including Mokurai SHIMAJI, a Buddhist monk of West Hongan-ji Temple.
欧米各国では新聞がこぞってこの悪辣な暴挙を非難し世論も硬化していたため、当時の駐米少弁務使森有礼は『日本宗教自由論』をあらわして禁教政策の継続の難しさを訴え、西本願寺僧侶島地黙雷らもこれにならった。