Even with all the pictures and the yards of reporting, it's difficult to imagine how the Japanese are coping with the loss of loved ones, loss of homes, loss of possessions and the threat of radiation, not to mention the terrible cold.More than 9,300 deaths have been reported, with 13,786 people still missing. The World Bank this week estimated the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami at $235 billion.
The mainstream media will report all the crises and catastrophes, but it will have little to say about the spiritual climate. The Japanese are traditionally resistant to the gospel; of Japan's 127 million population, only a tiny percentage are Christians. But there are reports from Japan that there is a change now in centuries-old attitudes.
Said Warren Janzen, international director of the Christian organisation SEND International: "The governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, stated publicly that the disaster was a punishment from heaven because the Japanese have become greedy. To have a public figure of his stature make a statement like that opens up a public discussion on spiritual things.
"Some of our missionaries are going out on the street, talking to random people, talking about the earthquake, the tsunami, and the nuclear situation there. People are engaging in spiritual conversation with strangers. That's just not typical."
The leader of a Japanese Christian aid organisation sent this plea to Barnabas Aid: "Pray for the churches in northeastern area. Many churches lost their pastors, members and buildings. Pray that they can stand strong in faith in Christ who stood on the raging water and who calmed the sea. This could be a wide open gate for the Gospel. We will conduct our rescue/relief mission through local churches. Need a lot of prayers from Barnabas Aid. Thank you so much."
People who have followed the news will know of "the Fukushima 50," the 50 workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant who chose to stay behind when everyone else left and have worked around the clock to cool overheating reactors. Five are believed to have died already; 15 are injured. Others of them have said they know the radiation there will kill them.
One of them, a project manager named Naoyoshi Sato, who has been overseeing the laying of 5,000 feet of power cable in Number 1 nuclear reactor in an attempt to get a cooling system working again, is a Christian, reportedly from Fukushima's First Baptist Church. He has already been exposed to lethal radiation levels.
