Dear Friends,
I recently read that Japan has the world’s oldest population. Over 28% of its people are over 65. The average age in Japan is 47. For a comparison, only 16% of America’s population is over 65.
There are two basic reasons Japan has the world’s oldest population. One is that the average life expectancy is 81. In Kagoshima Prefecture, there are over 400 people who are 100 or older. Another reason is Japan’s natural population decline, which means that the annual number of deaths is more than the number of births. In other words, it is not just that the Japanese are living longer, but that Japan is dealing with a declining birth rate. This decline is believed to be a result of a fall in the number of marriages, which is currently the lowest level since the war.
What is interesting is that, in spite of having the world’s oldest population, only 14% of Japan’s Covid-19 deaths (1710, as of 10/24) were in elderly care facilities, while 40% of Covid deaths in the U.S. were among seniors living in nursing homes. Experts believe Japan’s success in protecting the health of the elderly is due in large part to the existence of strong measures already in place (prior to the pandemic) to prevent infections, as well as high hygiene standards.
Just how has the coronavirus affected our ministry here over the past few months? When the government put in place a nationwide state of emergency, we cancelled our Sunday services for two weeks (4/26 & 5/3) at Yoshino and Kokubu. I prepared worship material for church members to use for Sunday morning worship in their homes for those two Sundays. They were also encouraged to listen to my messages on our church website.
Recent Yoshino Worship Service
Since then, we have continued to hold Sunday services at Yoshino, Kokubu, and Tarumizu, while taking necessary precautions. Everyone has to wear a mask, use hand sanitizer when they come in, and avoid sitting close together. We also make sure the worship area is well ventilated and have shortened the length of our service to about 45 minutes. While taking the above precautions, we are continuing our Wednesday Bible studies at Yoshino, and Mary is meeting with the ladies for their various monthly meetings.
Kokubu Worship Service
Yoshino Wednesday Bible Study
Yoshino Ladies’ Handbell Practice
My Bible class at the Kagoshima prison has been put on hold since June, and the Kagoshima churches had to cancel plans this year to host the 71st All Japan Christian Convention August 26th-28th. We will also be unable to hold our combined annual rally for the churches in Kagoshima Prefecture on November 23rd, due to coronavirus precautions.
As head trustee of Osaka Bible Seminary, I normally fly up to Osaka for our trustee meetings, but due to the present situation, all members have stopped traveling to Osaka. Instead, I took part in our July 23rd trustee meeting via Zoom from my office.
I would like to close by sharing some things we are grateful for. First, we are very grateful for the health and protection we and our church family here have been blessed with.
We are especially grateful for the birth of a new Christian brother, Takahisa Yamauchi. On June 7th, I had the privilege of baptizing Takahisa after our Sunday worship at Yoshino. Takahisa, the oldest son of our church organist (in the dark dress second from the right), is a college student in Tokyo but was in Kagoshima for an extended period taking classes online. During that period, we studied the Bible together and he made his decision to accept Christ and be baptized into Him. It was a joyful day for the church and especially for his mother, who had been praying for this day to come. Please keep Takahisa in your prayers as he begins his life in Christ. He has found a church to attend in Tokyo as he now continues his studies there.
Takahisa Yamauchi’s Baptism—June 7th
We are also grateful that a Christian couple, Mr. & Mrs. Toubo, began attending Sunday services at the Tarumizu church, where I preach on the 2nd & 5th Sundays. They were married at the Kanoya Church of Christ by Brother Yoshii over 30 years ago. Mr. Toubo grew up in the small town of Tarumizu and moved back with his wife after his retirement to take care of his mother. They live just a short distance from the church. The addition of this new couple has been a big blessing for our small Tarumizu congregation.
Tarumizu Church Worship
Finally, we are grateful for protection from a very powerful typhoon which came through September 6th. It was projected to be the most powerful typhoon to ever hit Kagoshima, but fortunately it lost some of its strength and took a westerly course, causing us only carport damage and alerting us to one leaky window.
God has been good to us. Thank you for your prayers and support. God bless you.
In Him,
Walter & Mary