The Core of Article 9: renunciation of war, refusal to maintain any kind of war potential, and denial of the right of belligerency
In the present Japanese political environment, there is a growing movement to revise the Constitution and, in response, many denominations within the Christian community have been organizing groups and holding meetings all over the country to gain a better……
by Nag Woon-hae Kyodan missionary to Korea
Korea can be numbered among the countries most active in Christian mission throughout the world. According to the Korean World Mission Association, as of January 2013, there were 25,665 missionaries from Korea serving in 169 countries. In terms of the number of missionaries as a percentage of the population, Korea has now overtaken the USA to become nu……
Thanks to the national broadcasting network (NHK)'s Taiga Drama Series “Yae no Sakura” (Yae’s Cherry Blossoms), which was telecast throughout Japan in 2013, the name of Niijima Jo (1843-1890) was frequently heard. This drama was televised nationwide every Sunday night for one year, 50 times throughout the year. The leading character was Yae, who was Niijima Jo’s wife.
Niijima Jo was a……
For 22 residents of the region in Fukushima impacted by the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, the year 2014 began with a four-day trip to Taiwan for the parent and children"s Little Lambs Camp. The program, initiated at the invitation of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan’s Chai Presbytery, was made possible by a grant from the United Methodist Committee on Relief……
We are happy to report that since the district assemblies this past spring, we have hosted a series of overseas guests and have had very good exchanges.
On June 28, Bishop Dr. Markus Droge of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Bradenburg-Schlesische Oberlausitz (EKBO), Roland Herpich, director of the Ecumenical Centre, Berlin Mission, and Dr. Christof Theilemann, Ecumenical Centre Berli……
In 1875, at the dawning of modern Japan, Niijima Jo founded Doshisha English School in Kyoto. Based on the principles and spirit of Christianity, it was to provide an “education that would completely fill the conscience of individuals.” (Incidentally, the wife of Niijima Jo, Niijima (Yamamoto) Yae, is the heroine of the current yearlong historical drama series on NHK TV, “Yae no Sakura.”)
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by Nagano Takuya, 2010 graduate
Doshisha University, Kyoto
Through my six years of study in the School of Theology at Doshisha University, I learned the importance of our “encounters” with others. To most, I suppose a “university” is considered to be a place for a high degree of specialized study. However, in the School of Theology, I was always encouraged to consider how I should live and b……
Moriwake Kazuki, pastor of Miyako Church, Iwate Prefecture, Ou District recalled personal and church-related struggles since the 2011 disaster during an interview with a Shinto no Tomo (Believers’ Friend) editorial staff person.
Although it did not collapse, Miyako Church was heavily damaged by the tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011. Many members of the church, along with numerous ot……
by Kondo Makoto, Kyodan missionary California, U.S.A.
Pine United Methodist Church holds services in both Japanese (Nichigo-bu) and English (Eigo-bu). Although Pine Church was originally established by Japanese people, as the generation-change progressed, the members of Nichigo-bu have gotten older and decreased in number while the size of Eigo-bu has grown. Some of our neighboring Japanese chu……
by Kyodan Vice-moderator Ito Mizuo
From May 7 through 15, I went with Executive Secretary Kato Makoto to visit some churches in Germany and Switzerland. The Herrnhuter Brudergemeine (Moravian Church) was our first official visit. It takes 1.5 hours to travel by car from Dresden Airport to Brudergemeine, a town in what was formerly East Germany, near the border of the Czech Republic and Poland. ……
