Christmas in Japan–Spiritual or Superficial?

                                                                                            Celebrating Christmas is very popular in Japan, but December 25th is NOT a national holiday in Japan.  Japanese people work and go to school as usual. But although  only about 1% of the Japanese population is Christian (the rest are Buddhists and Shinto) Japanese Christmas is a big Day, with traditions that are uniquely…

Challenges of the field of Japan and Long Term Patience Part 3

“Tenkin” – 転勤 -mandatory transfer system in Japan ~~The long-standing tenkin (job transfer) system in Japan probably stems from the medieval Edo-period custom of keeping the regional daimyo (feudal lord) virtually hostage in the capital city for one year  out of three, as a way of reducing the threat of rebellion by the shogun’s vassal states.(from…

Do they know of Christ?

The Engel Scale was developed by James F. Engel as a way of representing the journey from no knowledge of God through to spiritual maturity as a Christian believer. The model is used by some Christians to emphasize the process of conversion, and the various decision-making steps that a person goes through before they become…