I don't know anything about Japan so a question.

In "Battle Royale" when the author tries to describe a good child he makes out some link to a Catholic upbringing.
Is it normal in Japan for an ordinary Japanese person to associate goodness with being in some way linked to Christianity?

I have been in Japan only once and have met Japanese Catholic at Tokyo.

Japan is mostly Buddhist or Shintoist, and Catholics form a minority except at Nagasaki.

It is a novel but there is too much gore there. Check the following:

http://battleroyale.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_Royale

Arigato gozaimasu.

lbt,
yes - definitely, its not religious at all, its totally secular.
That was why I found it surprising that the author associated good teenagers with Christianity and not Buddhism (or Shinto).
(When I say "Good" I mean teenagers in the novel who refused to fight and tried to stop others fighting).
The violence is "comic book" - its a far more morally uplifting story than Dune which has been debated here thousands of time. I couldn't get past about page 10 of dune - it was disgusting. This book, on the other hand, is gore filled, but strangely innocent - and very addictive.