Q & A
ABOUT JAPAN

CONTENTS

GENERAL

Do you have a lot of horses around there?

No. Many Japanese children who live in the cities have never seen a real horse, cow, or anything other than a dog or cat outside of the zoo.  In the country we know that there are dairies and places where beef cattle are raised, but more often than not the cattle are kept in barns.  We have lived in Japan for more than 15 years and have almost never seen cows or horses.

Are there poisonous snakes and bugs in your country? Can you name a few? Have you ever been bitten by any?

There is a very poisonous snake called "mamushi." There are poisonous bugs, too, but none that we know of that are really life threatening. Fortunately, we've never been bitten by any.

CHRISTIANITY

Q. What makes reaching Japanese people difficult?

Nearly all Japanese are Buddhist or Shinto, but few are really devout in their faith. In addition to these, most Japanese also believe in spiritism (various forms of fortune telling, communicating with spirits or the dead, etc.) which they don't consider to be "religion". The collective Japanese mindset is that religion in general is dangerous. They believe that if someone gets involved in religion they are likely to become brainwashed and lose their mind. There is a very negative social atmosphere toward any religion which tries to make converts or anyone who would respond to such an appeal (such as attending a special service, accepting a tract, etc.). Japanese fear what other people (their family, friends, and coworkers) will think of them if they show any interest in "religion."

Japan is a very workaholic society. It is not uncommon for people to work 10 to 15 hour days 6 or 7 days a week (usually with no extra pay or overtime compensation). A 40 hour week is unheard of. This "busy, busy" mindset permeates all other aspects of peoples' lives as well. No one wants to be considered lazy, so even those without heavy work schedules create busyness to fill their daily lives. Older retired people are busy with their gardening, housewives are busy with their children, businessmen fill their days off from work with fishing, golf, company trips, or work on the family farm. From the youngest to the oldest almost no one thinks they have "time" for attending church even if they were inclined to do so.

Even though very few Japanese people have any knowledge of what the Bible teaches, or God's plan of Salvation, most people know that if they were to become a Christian it would require a change of lifestyle. However, in Japanese society there is extreme pressure for everyone to be alike. Attending drinking parties and smoking cigarettes are a must for success in the business world. Drinking only a few drinks is also not acceptable in this society. Being part of the group means drinking until you all collapse under the table in a drunken stupor. Pornography and risque talk are also "normal" for Japanese men. Even though some would like to escape from this kind of life, they fear for their jobs and reputations if they were to refuse to participate.

Also, because of family and social ties Japanese are bound to participate in Buddhist and Shinto rituals such as worshiping the dead. even if they personally don't believe in it. They know that if they were to become a Christian that they would not be able to participate in this resulting in extreme pressure and even rejection from their families. For this reason even the thought of becoming a Christian is out of the question.

In general, Japanese have the concept that religion costs a lot of money. If you don't want to go broke, it is best to not get involved.

Ultimately, the number one reason why so few Japanese have accepted the Gospel is because they have never heard. Our biggest challenge is finding ways to get them to listen. Because of all of their preconceptions and misconceptions it is not easy to get an audience. Mass evangelism is completely ineffective. We are forced to earn the right to be heard, one person at a time.

CLIMATE/HACHINOHE

Is the weather in your country hot and sunny, or more like ours (in Washington State)?

ECONOMY

We've heard of the poor economy in Japan. Has it affected your ministry? (11/4/98)

As you have heard, the economy in Japan isn't doing very well. There have been a lot of layoffs at companies, and many companies have been cutting wages in order to try to stay afloat. Demand for everything from cars to groceries has been on the decline as people guard their pocket books and tighten their belts. So far no one in our church has lost their job, but some of them have suffered from cut wages. We are praying that hard times cause people to turn their eyes toward lasting treasures.

The poor economy hasn't had as much of an effect on us personally since we receive our support from churches in the U.S., but a faltering U.S. economy certainly has. We still lack about $700 in monthly pledges of reaching our budget. What hurts us more than the economy, however, is the exchange rate. Last August one dollar bought about 146 yen; now it buys only about 114 yen. That is an increase of over 20% and directly impacts every purchase. Our budget was made last summer with the higher exchange rate in mind.

Has the yen been increasing in value? Are property values down? (10/23/98)

The yen took its biggest one day increase in history against the dollar. Last August, one dollar bought 145 yen, now it only buys 115. That's more than 20% loss in the value of the dollar in just a couple of months, and most of the loss took place since the beginning of October. Please pray that it moves back in the other direction. Our budget was prepared with the good exchange rate that existed when we were still in America.

So far, property values haven't come down much. In fact, I heard from the realtor that the land near Hachinohe Station is over 10 million dollars an acre right now and is still going up. That's one reason why we have no choice but to look at agricultural land or forest land for our future church building.

Could you give me an idea of the price of land in Japan? (2/11/99)

Land in Japan is sold in units called a "tsubo." One tsubo is about 36 square feet (or about the size of a double bed-6 ft. x 6 ft.). There are about 1,226 tsubo in one acre. Here where we live, residential property costs around $2,000 to $3,000/tsubo, or $2.5 million to $3.7 million/acre. Commercial property here can cost $10,000/tsubo or more depending on the location. That adds up to $12.3 million/acre. Land in our area is very inexpensive compared to other cities in Japan (probably the lowest in Japan for a city of its size-population 250,000). Residential property in or around Tokyo or Osaka can cost many times what it costs here.

Needless to say, very few Japanese have big houses with spacious yards. In American cities, people build homes on 1/4 acre lots (307 tsubo). Here they build on 1/25 acre lots (50 tsubo). In Tokyo they build on 1/125 acre lots (10 tsubo).  That's the size of 10 double beds!!

What is the cost of living in Japan? (2/11/99, updated 3/26/03)

It is hard to give an accurate comparison with America since prices are always changing.  In the more than 15 years since we first came to Japan we've seen a dollar range in value from less than 80 yen to more than 150 yen.  Even though the price in yen might remain unchanged, the cost in dollars would be almost double at 80 yen/dollar what it would cost at 150 yen/dollar.  Today (March 26, 2003)  I went to the store to get some updated prices.  The exchange rate today is 119 yen/dollar.  Here are some prices to compare:

The average wage for a full-time employee in our area of Japan is between $2000 and $3000/month (not a lot of money when considering the high cost of living).

FADS

What is the latest fad that captivates the youth of your city?

The latest is baggy socks, dyed hair (especially red and blonde), and high platform shoes.

LIVING CONDITIONS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

What are the conditions like in the area you live in? (2/11/99, updated 3/26/03)

There are basically 4 classes of people in our neighborhood. First, there are the wealthy land owners. These people have lived generation after generation in the same area and own land. If land costs $3 million an acre, you don't have to own a lot of land to be wealthy by American standards. On the other hand, even though these people might have a net worth of several million dollars, their lifestyle often doesn't reflect it. They have the biggest houses, but many of the houses are old and run down. Most of them live with extended families. The oldest son works in a factory or office somewhere; his wife has a part-time job in the local supermarket, while the grandparents grow rice and vegetables and look after the children. These families probably make up about 5 percent of the population of our neighborhood.

The second group lives in rented homes and apartments. Most of these are owned by the wealthy land owners. Often times the rental houses are right beside or in front of the landlord's house. Although some of these rental houses are clean, a lot of them are crumbling slums. Many are tiny one-room shacks with rusting metal siding and sagging floors.  A lot of these lack such modern conveniences such as flushing toilets, baths, and most have no heat other than kerosene space heaters. A lot of the people who live in these houses are older people. Most of these people work in low-paying labor jobs. About 20% of the people in our neighborhood fit into this category.

The third group are young working families. Usually these people don't live with extended families. The dad and mom both work while the children go to school.  They own their own home which is comfortable but quite small by American standards and with no yard to speak of.  Owning your own house here is no easy thing with land prices as high as they are.  A very small house (1,000 to 1,500 square feet with no garage) on only 1/20 to 1/25 of an acre of land (smaller than the average front yard in America) costs around $250,000 at today's exchange rate. These people make up about 35% of our neighborhood.

The fourth group of people lives in government subsidized apartment buildings. There are more than 10,000 people in our immediate neighborhood living in this kind of setting. Some of the people are newly married couples. They are temporarily living in the low-rent apartments while they try to save up money to get their own house. Others have lived in the apartments for years and years with no plans to move. From the outside, the apartments don't look like much. They are plain rectangular concrete buildings five stories high with no elevators. But, inside they're clean and comfortable, although quite small. Since rent is based on income, people pay anywhere from nothing to $500/month depending on their ability to pay. These people make up about 40% of our neighborhood.