Takeshi Takazawa's follow-up interview: July 19, 2018

Takeshi Takazawa of Asian Access shares the latest updates about Japan’s flooding crisis with MNN’s Ruth Kramer. Here how we should be praying...

Asian Access responds as misery compound

Japan (MNN) — “When it rains, it pours.” In other words, when something bad happens, more trouble is right around the corner. Such is the case in Japan. Earlier this month, a typhoon brought record-breaking rainfall to southwest Japan. Last week, flooding caused by the rainfall triggered massive mudslides and left people stranded on rooftops. Now, says Takeshi Takazawa of Asian Access, a heat wave is complicating recovery efforts and the death toll keeps on climbing. More than 200 people have perished so...

Asian Access is announcing that it is receiving donations for the current flooding crisis in Japan and is directing those funds to provide relief where most strategic in terms of long-term impact. In response to this crisis, Asian Access has decided to help Japan in important ways consistent with our mission. Our first priority is always the nationals. Asian Access prioritizes its response based on the three types of people/organizations involved in disaster relief...

Asian Access equips believers to respond in Christ’s name during a flood crisis

Japan (MNN) — Large sections of Japan are underwater following a typhoon and record rainfall over the weekend. The storm has claimed at least 100 lives and dozens are still missing. Two million people are under evacuation orders.Asian Access is equipping Japanese Christians to respond. “It’s getting difficult to find out all the information, but each time we have a disaster, [the] Japanese Church is getting more equipped, more prepared,” says Takeshi Takazawa, VP for Strategic Engagement...

85 Dead, Millions Forced to Flee

According to CNN, dozens of people have been killed and 2 million forced to flee their homes across eight prefectures after record rains pounded southwest Japan, triggering widespread flooding and deadly landslides. Japanese news NHK reports 85 people are dead, 6 are in critical condition and at least 58 are missing. "The Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded its alert system to the highest level in large areas of western Japan, while lifting the warning in other regions." "About 364 millimeters (14.3 inches) of rain fell between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. in the city of Uwajima -- approximately 1.5 times the average monthly rainfall for July."...

Last week I had the privilege of visiting Pastor Youngsan Cho, a Korean missionary serving with Asian Access partner church Hongodai from Yokohama appointed to Ishinomaki. He’s the pastor I’ve been sharing about leading the Ochako “Tea” House in Ishinomaki. We’ve posted a few stories about him. This visit was quite profound for me. Cho sensei, as we call him, was his normal ebullient self. He’s the most optimistic joyful Korean missionary I’ve ever met. I love being around him!

From Greed to Generosity

On March 11—the 7th anniversary of the Triple Disaster here in Japan—I’ve been asked to preach at Tokyo Life Church, the church we attend most regularly. TLC is in a Lenten series, and the topics are The Seven Deadly Sins. The passage I’m to cover is Matthew 19:16-30. It is the story of the rich young ruler, and the deadly sin is greed. As I reflect on how to tie greed, the rich young ruler, and 3.11 together, vivid memories come to mind. I’ll never forget that day in the mountains of Karuizawa thinking...

Prayer is needed as the nation continues to heal

Japan (MNN) – Seven years ago on the afternoon of March 11, a massive earthquake shifted Japan’s Honshu island by several feet. The moving earth resulted in a series of tsunamis, the first of which struck the Fukushima nuclear power plant at a height of 45 ft, knocking out its backup generators. Three of the six reactors exploded because the cooling systems stopped functioning. Many people died in what’s known as Japan’s Triple Disaster, also called 3/11. Hundreds of thousands of people had...

Nurturing Resiliency through Emotional and Spiritual Care 

“I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”  Psalm 16:8 ESV

Need for a Compass

I am directionally challenged. If I tell my wife while driving to ‘turn right,' I really mean left. I am not the most reliable navigator. At times I find that I can be 'directionally challenged' in my walk of faith and ministry path as well and must intentionally…

The story of this lady was amazing. She lived just 1.5 kilometers from the ocean (about a mile) and the tsunami took everything. Soon after, the gentlemen standing next to her, started a house fellowship not too long after retiring from work. He was inspired by his church to start another church after he retired from a great career. Did it matter that he is not a pastor? No. Did it matter that he had received no significant theological training? No. Rather, his pastor saw his gifts and invested in him for years. From the Asian Access training, he developed a plan to empower lay leaders to start churches so that they could reach the Japanese people. He knew there was no way you could reach Japan through just the clergy alone. So, he raised up several business leaders to begin starting house churches in his region.

The lady sharing in this picture was saved by a bridge in her local fishing village. She was driving back to her home where her husband’s family has led a fishing business for several generations. As she drove onto the bridge, the tsunami swept away most of her friends, their homes, and their cars. The town was devastated and all she could do is sit there and watch her friends get swept away. Her husband, just a few minutes earlier was able to marshal a few people to several boats he owned and fled into the sea before the waves crushed the village. He’s standing in this picture to her right. He was gone for three days at sea and she had no idea where he was or if the tsunami took his life. They were both saved that day… For a purpose! God had a plan for them and their village. Pastor Kishinami, who...

Tragedy brought them to a deeper level of ministry

Nepal (MNN) — Nepal just marked the second anniversary of devastating twin earthquakes that killed 9,000 people and made a million others homeless. The government has been criticized for the slow pace of rebuilding, and did not officially hold any commemorative events April 25th. However, survivors held memorial services in Kathmandu and other parts of the country. Although it has faded off front page news, the reality is that Nepal is still in tatters. Less than one-fifth of the destroyed homes have been rebuilt. Asian Access, a ministry that helps train, develop, and network church leaders, had already started connecting believers to help respond to the quake needs. It was a unique moment for these Christians. Perhaps what makes this more interesting is how the Japanese Church lived out... 

This day will be a day I never forget. Six years ago, in just a few short hours from right now, I was in Karuizawa, Japan for our annual Japan Staff Spring Retreat. It was a wonderful time together with our Asian Access/Japan family as always and as we were in chapel that afternoon, the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced hit: over 9 points on the Richter Scale. Even though it was centered several miles off the coast of Japan and many miles further from my location, it was still the single longest and strongest quake I had ever lived through. And, I’ve lived through some pretty strong quakes living most of my life in Los Angeles.

This morning as I awoke, I was reminded of being here in Japan that horrible day. Silk and I were in Japan and our thoughts went to many of the pastors and churches we know in the heaviest hit regions plus staff we have all over the country who were unable to make the retreat. We also were thinking of our children and families back home and what might happen to us.

As you know it was a devastating quake that triggered a massive tsunami that wreaked havoc on the shorelines of Northeast Japan. They call it a triple disaster because the...

As recovery stagnates, Gospel growth booms

Japan (MNN) — Broken remnants and barricades remain six years after Japan’s deadly ‘triple disaster’. “There are still tens of thousands of people in temporary housing…. That place (near the Fukushima nuclear facility) was so devastated that the local people cannot afford to go back into their homes and rebuild them,” says Joe Handley of Asian Access. Worse yet, the Japanese government is ending housing subsidies for some Fukushima residents. Financial aid will end this month for “those who fled the Fukushima nuclear disaster from areas other than the government-designated evacuation zones,” according to Japan Today. Yet. Handley found hope during a recent...

Nozomi のぞみ = Hope

Last week I had the privilege of visiting the Nozomi Project and wow, I didn’t expect how powerfully God would move in my own life. As we were sharing together I heard the amazing story shared in this video about an autistic boy: https://vimeo.com/164225374 Thing is, I didn’t expect it to hit me personally. You see, I have an autistic sister so I shared a lot in common with the family in the video. As you’ll see in the story, the mom was encouraged through the Nozomi team, and particularly by my colleague Sue Takamoto, that her son’s life has purpose and meaning. That led me to share part of my own journey growing up with my sister. You see, I’m not naturally a very compassionate person but growing up with my sister, there were times where...

Pastor Yoji Nakamura, who leads the Kyushu Christ Disaster Relief Center in Kumamoto, is an amazing pastor. You can learn more about him in this post from last fall: Mr. Christ… Christ, Christ, Christ! I had the privilege of spending a few days with him in Kumamoto following up on the earthquake that hit the region about nine months ago. He was so inspiring and as he shared in church that morning before I preached, he told the congregation another amazing story that brought tears to all of our eyes!  As they’ve led the relief efforts, they have tried to adopt people from the disaster areas who live in temporary housing and Pastor Yoji adopted a little girl who has been particularly challenging to work alongside. Most people avoid the child because she’s so oppositional. But, Yoji just...

Being with Kent and Yuko Muhling last week in Sendai inspired me. They are trying so many different ways to reach out to their neighbors, I was deeply impressed. You would be proud of them! One story in particular captured my imagination. They shared about a man who has been watching the Christian relief teams not far from Sendai City. He lived through the disaster and has seen the relief teams come and go. But, he was particularly inspired by the ongoing efforts of the local churches, missionaries, and believers from all over the world who keep coming and serving. As he thought about these people and what they were doing, he watched them very closely. He noticed that despite all the trials they suffered in serving, all the challenges they face on a daily basis and even the difficult circumstances through... 

How would you like your church to be called “Mr. Christ”?

That’s what people are calling the Church in action in Kumamoto, Japan following the devastating disaster that occurred earlier this year. As the collective Church sprung up and has been serving the community, people have not seen them as cults or different denominations but rather simply by the name of Jesus. How cool is that! Pastor Yoji Nakamura shared this week at Asian Access Japan National Conference his journey of living through the disaster. His story extends way back though, starting with the Kobe quake through the Tohoku quake of 2011 and then this past year in his city, Kumamoto. 

“When we do mission, we need one heart. So we can do it together.”

These two sentences best sum up our commitment to live and work in community. Pastor Yukimasa Otomo shared this with me to describe his partnership with A2 missionaries Robert and Roberta Adair. The partnership between Japanese pastors and A2 missionaries is deep. As Yukimasa Sensei added, “Having Robert [here] is good for me, because I can share my heart.” Robert was excited to partner with this pastor, too...

Takeshi Takazawa of Asian Access reports that there are over 100 churches in the Kyushu earthquake disaster area and surrounding vicinity in SW Japan.

Those churches together created the "Kyushu Christian Disaster Relief Center" and it's already functioning. One of the on-site leaders is an alumnus of our leader development program, Pastor Yoji Nakamura. Together, they are distributing relief goods and helping out individual victims by removing debris from their houses...