Japan

TENACIOUS hard work and unity of purpose are among the qualities that have brought Japan from the devastation of World War II to its modern role as one of the industrial giants of the world. Today this country of 125 million people is known as much for the trade names of its cameras, cars, and electric appliances as it is for its cherry blossoms, azaleas, and 12,388-foot [3,776 m] snowcapped Mount Fuji.

However, theocratic progress following the war has been even more impressive. In 1951 a convention in Tokyo was attended by some 40 missionary graduates of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead and about 200 native Japanese publishers. N. H. Knorr, then president of the Watch Tower Society, said that he looked forward to the time when there would be so many native Japanese proclaimers of the Kingdom that it would be hard to search out the missionaries among them. That day was not too long in coming! With Jesus Christ as the foundation, it took ten years for the missionaries, as God’s fellow workers, to gather the first 1,000 Japanese publishers. But in 1992, on an average, 1,000 new publishers were being added each month. (Compare 1 Corinthians 3:9-11.) The total number of ministers of God’s Kingdom on the islands that make up Japan has peaked at 220,663, a new peak having been reached each month for more than 18  years. What has occurred is an exciting part of the fulfillment of Isaiah 60:8, 9, which says: “Who are these that come flying just like a cloud, and like doves to their birdhouse holes? For in me the islands themselves will keep hoping.”

The 1973 Yearbook reported some of this early history from Japan, up to the year 1972, when there were about 14,000 publishers, including more than 3,000 in the rapidly expanding pioneer service. This history is here reviewed and extended 25 years.

Early Seeds of Kingdom Truth

In this traditionally Buddhist and Shinto land, how were the seeds that have yielded such an abundant spiritual harvest sown? In 1911, C. T. Russell, then the president of the Watch Tower Society, made a fact-finding tour of Japan. He reported that the missionaries of Christendom were considerably discouraged and that the people in general displayed little genuine interest in religion. He felt, however, that what the people needed was the “Gospel of the Kingdom.” R. R. Hollister, an American, was appointed as the Society’s representative in the Orient. Tracts and books, including The Divine Plan of the Ages, were translated, and millions of copies were distributed, primarily by hired native workers. In 1926, Junzo Akashi, a Japanese-American, was sent to Japan as the Society’s representative. A branch office was established in Kobe early in 1927, and it was transferred to Tokyo later that year. By 1938 the number of colporteurs distributing magazines and books had grown to 110. But fanatic religious nationalism was being fanned throughout the country, and this led directly into World War II. On June 21, 1939, in one fell swoop, 130 members of the Todaisha (meaning “Lighthouse Association,” as the local organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses was then called) were arrested and imprisoned, effectively ending organized activity during the war years.

 Unhappily, the branch overseer apostatized under the pressure. With a few loyal exceptions, such as the Ishii and Miura families, most of the Todaisha followed him in quitting Jehovah’s service. The failure of this group can be attributed also to their following a man, Junzo Akashi. He adopted the traditional Japanese custom of polygamy, even though he already had a wife. She continued to pioneer faithfully for 40 years and more in New York, and she is still fondly remembered by some in West Manhattan as Sister Ogawachi. When Gilead missionaries entered Japan after the war, they located a large group of Todaisha in Osaka. These charged money for baptisms, and even worse, they had followed Akashi in adopting a very immoral life-style. They declined to give up that way of life; so for the purity of the congregation, some 30 of them had to be disfellowshipped.

Those Who Remained Faithful

In contrast, consider Jizo and Matsue Ishii, who were among the first Japanese colporteurs. They covered the entire country during the years 1929 to 1939. In June 1939 they were arrested and jailed in Sendai. Matsue still remembers her first year of solitary confinement in a tiny, filthy, flea-infested cell. She was not allowed to shower or bathe, and her flesh was eaten by bedbugs. She was reduced to 70 pounds [30 kg], just skin and bones, and came to be near death. On being sent to another prison, she regained some of her health, and she was released toward the end of 1944. Her husband received like treatment, and later he showed his integrity also when he refused blood transfusions. (Acts 21:25) He died at 71 years of age. Matsue has continued as a faithful Witness to this day. She remarks: “Most of those from before the war who excelled in ability and intellect left God’s organization when subjected to great pressure. . . . Those who remained faithful had no special  abilities and were inconspicuous. Surely all of us must trust in Jehovah with all our heart.”—Prov. 3:5.

Another faithful couple were Katsuo and Hagino Miura, who entered the colporteur service in 1931. They too were arrested in 1939, in Hiroshima. They refused to worship the emperor or support Japan’s militarism. Katsuo was severely beaten, and he suffered in confinement until an atom bomb destroyed the prison in August 1945. Though he was only 38, his health had been ruined. On release, he looked like an old man. He returned north to Ishinomori, where Hagino, released earlier, was raising their young son, Tsutomu.

How did Katsuo meet up with Jehovah’s organization again? Japan’s leading newspaper, Asahi, learned that five young ladies, Watch Tower missionaries, had come to Osaka to live Japanese-style in a Japanese house. Reporters visited them and prepared a splendid illustrated article that compared the five sisters to angels who, like cherry blossoms, had floated down from heaven. The article also supplied the address of the missionary home. Hundreds of miles to the north, Katsuo chanced upon the article. Immediately he made contact again with the organization and enrolled as a pioneer. He served faithfully until his death in 1957.

Serving to this day in Kobe, Japan, is Miyo Idei, now 92 years old. She has endured many hardships during her 65 years in the truth. Her thrilling life story appeared in The Watchtower of September 1, 1991.

“The 49ers”

Conditions for preaching had become much more favorable following World War II. But in 1947, Junzo Akashi notified the Watch Tower Society’s office in Brooklyn, New York, that he no longer agreed with Bible teachings. Brother  Knorr immediately sent a call to Hawaii for Japanese-Hawaiian volunteers to come to Gilead School’s 11th class for missionary training. The Hawaii branch overseer, who had been a secretary to J. F. Rutherford in the early 1920’s, pleaded: “But, Brother Knorr, what about the Hasletts?” So the invitation was extended also to Don Haslett and his wife, Mabel, though they were close to 50 years of age. At Gilead, Shinichi Tohara and Elsie Tanigawa taught Japanese to more than 20 students.

During 1949 “the Hawaiians”—Don and Mabel Haslett, Jerry and Yoshi Toma, Shinichi and Masako Tohara and their  three children, and Elsie Tanigawa—took up assignments in the bombed-out city of Tokyo. In the same year, these were followed by the Australian group, made up of Adrian Thompson, Percy and Ilma Iszlaub, and Lloyd and Melba Barry, who were assigned to the war-devastated city of Kobe. These first  missionaries in Japan came to be called “the 49ers.” Of these, six have died in their assignment, “with their boots on,” as the saying goes, and eight others are still serving full-time in Japan and in Brooklyn, New York. In 1949, eight local publishers also reported time spent in Kingdom service.

Growth in Tokyo

The Hawaiian group made remarkable progress in Tokyo. Yoshi Toma recalls that in that postwar year, they worked  the territory “from dugout to dugout.” She says: “The people were poor and struggling to recover from the effects of the war. Food was rationed, and Don Haslett would stand in line with the neighbors for his head of cabbage.” But the householders were gracious and kind, listening patiently while these missionaries struggled with their Japanese presentations. The missionaries had to learn to take off their shoes upon entering a house. Then they would step up into the adjoining room. But ceilings were low, and Don Haslett, who was tall, got many a scar from hitting his head. Within a year or two, “the Hawaiians” built a solid foundation in Tokyo, which now has 139 congregations.

Of “the 49ers,” anointed Witnesses Don and Mabel Haslett set a marvelous example in the field work even when advanced in years. When Don died in 1966, the six brothers who carried his casket into the Kingdom Hall for the memorial service were all young men whom he had led to the truth and who at that time were serving in the 19-member Japan Bethel family, in Tokyo.

Mabel survived Don by eight years. Well on in her 70’s, she developed cancer of the colon. A leading Tokyo hospital at Toranomon considerately agreed to operate without blood, on the condition that she go into the hospital two weeks beforehand. On her first day there, a young doctor visited her bed, curious to know why she refused blood. This led to fine Bible discussions that continued every day until the operation. Because of the seriousness of the case, four doctors participated. As Mabel regained consciousness, she exclaimed: “Curse old Adam!” How fitting! Mabel was under intensive care for only one day, whereas four other patients who had the same surgery that day but with blood transfusions were several days in the intensive care unit. And what of the young doctor? Later he told Mabel: ‘You didn’t know it, but there were  five doctors in that operating room. I went there as well, to make absolutely sure that they did not give you blood.’ Dr. Tominaga continued his Bible study in Yokohama. Today, he and his doctor-father and their wives are active members of the congregation. Wonderful fruitage from a stay in the hospital!

Mabel continued her missionary service from the Tokyo Mita missionary home. When she was 78 years old, the cancer returned, and she was confined to bed. However, when the missionaries came home one evening and related the fine experiences they were having in a Kingdom News campaign, Mabel insisted that they dress her and take her out to distribute Kingdom News. She had strength enough to visit only three nearby homes, the same three where she had first witnessed on arrival in Japan. Several weeks later she finished her earthly course and passed on to her heavenly assignment.—Compare Luke 22:28, 29.

Developments in Kobe

In Kobe too the growth was soon evident. The first truly theocratic convention in Japan was held on the grounds of the spacious Kobe missionary home, from December 30, 1949, to January 1, 1950. The attendance swelled to 101 at the Sunday Public Meeting, held in the Tarumi, Kobe, school auditorium. Three were baptized in the large Tarumi public bathhouse.

Adrian Thompson, from the Kobe missionary group, made remarkable progress with the Japanese language and, in 1951, was appointed to be the first circuit overseer in Japan. Later he became the first district overseer. He did much to lay a solid basis for the growth to come. The son of a longtime faithful pioneer sister in New Zealand, he had made a name for himself as a rugby footballer of the top-line class, but when World War II broke out, he left the limelight of sports, became a baptized Witness, and then took up full-time  service in Australia. Though he died in 1977, “Tommy” will long be remembered for his boundless energy and “insistence on exclusive devotion” to Jehovah.—Num. 25:11.

It took time for the missionaries to get used to the Japanese homes, culture, and language, but their principal interest was in sharing Bible truth with others. “Tiger” (Percy) Iszlaub, an outgoing Australian Queenslander, reminisced: “We conducted a lot of Bible studies. I had 36, and Ilma and the rest had about the same. Students used to come to the missionary home to study, some every day. There were Bible studies being conducted in every room of the house, three or more each night. We spread out the study material in both English and Japanese. To help students, we would both count down so many lines to where the answer was. It was slow going, but it was amazing how they would catch on just by reading the scriptures and comparing these with the publications. And they are in the truth today!”

In the early days, the missionaries had little Kingdom literature for their preaching. A prewar carton of the Japanese edition of Light, Book Two, had turned up in Kobe, but people would say, ‘I would prefer to read Book One first.’ One of the very first Japanese to come into the truth in Kobe, however, got interested through reading Book Two and matured, in time, to become a circuit overseer. Soon, material from the book “Let God Be True” was being used. A few who were studying made their own translations of chapters of the book, and these were mimeographed and lent among the missionaries for use at other Bible studies. But some of those translations were questionable. Ilma Iszlaub was shocked when she found that ‘interpretations by Mrs. Ilma Iszlaub’ had been inserted as footnotes on the pages of one such translation.

Some ten years later, in the city of Fukuoka, Percy had a monumental experience. Kimihiro Nakata, a violent death-row  prisoner who had been paid to kill two men, requested a Bible study, and it was Percy who studied with him. As a result, Kimihiro completely abandoned his “old personality.” He was baptized in the prison, and Percy described him as “one of the most zealous Kingdom publishers I have known.” (Eph. 4:22-24) He studied Braille and transcribed the book “Let God Be True,” the booklet “This Good News of the Kingdom,” and Watchtower and Awake! articles into Braille. These publications were distributed to various parts of Japan, including schools for the blind. However, early on June 10, 1959, a police car pulled up at the missionary home. Kimihiro had requested Percy’s presence at his execution that morning. Percy complied. In the execution yard, they conversed briefly, and at the last, they sang a Kingdom song together. Kimihiro said to Percy: “Why are you shivering, Percy? I am the one who should be nervous.” Before he was hanged, his last words were: “Today I feel strongly confident in Jehovah and in the ransom sacrifice and the resurrection hope. For a little while I will sleep, and if it be Jehovah’s will, I shall meet you all in the Paradise.” He sent warm greetings to his brothers around the world. Kimihiro died to satisfy justice, giving life for life—not as a hopeless, hardened criminal, but as a dedicated, baptized, faithful servant of Jehovah.—Compare Acts 25:11.

After fighting cancer for some ten years, Ilma Iszlaub died at the Ebina, Japan, Bethel Home on January 29, 1988. Thereafter, as a member of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Percy attended the Society’s annual meetings several times, giving a fine report about Japan on a recent occasion; then he too died, in 1996.

Despite the language barrier, Melba Barry started a Bible study on her first day of field service in Kobe, late in 1949. Two new publishers resulted from the study, and one of these, Miyo Takagi, pioneered for several decades. She told Melba later that she had been impressed at seeing two missionary sisters  come through a muddy field to visit her. Now, 48 years later, a wheelchair carries Miyo from house to house as she continues in her ministry. In less than three years, before being reassigned to missionary service in Tokyo, Melba helped some seven persons to accept the truth. These have endured over the years, and happily, they also survived the great Kobe earthquake of 1995.

More Missionaries Into the Field

Early in 1950, five sisters from Gilead’s 11th class who had been unable to gain visas for entry into New Caledonia were reassigned to Kobe, Japan. These included Lois Dyer, who has pioneered now for 67 years, and Molly Heron. They have been partners for the past 49 years, serving at present out of the Tokyo Mita missionary home. Lois’ life story appeared in the June 15, 1980, Watchtower.

Molly Heron recalls: “The Kobe home was spacious, and we held the Memorial six months after the first missionaries arrived. About 180 showed up, filling the dining room and the hallway, and some were even listening to the interpreted talk through the windows.” After hearing an announcement at that meeting regarding field service, some 35 turned up the next morning (Sunday) to participate. Brother Barry reports: “Each missionary had to take three or four of the newly interested ones to the doors, and since the missionaries were not as yet fluent in the language, the householders would turn to our Japanese companions and converse with them. What these newly interested people told the householders, we never did learn.”

Late in June 1950, the Korean War suddenly exploded. Of course, the missionaries in Japan wanted to know how the eight members of their class serving in Korea were faring. They did not have to wait long. On the second day after the outbreak of war, some of the Kobe missionaries were returning  home by commuter train. A train from the opposite direction arrived at the station at the same time. When the two trains departed, behold! The Kobe missionaries saw the eight members of the Korean missionary group standing on the other platform. What a reunion they had! Those in Korea had been able to get out of the country on the last plane that carried civilians. Now the Kobe home increased from 10 to 18 missionaries. The territory in that city, much of it in ruins, received a very thorough witness.

Soon Scott and Alice Counts went on to the Tokyo home, but in October, all eight Korean missionaries moved to a new home that was opened in Nagoya. Of the group from Korea, only Don Steele and his wife, Earlene, returned to that country when conditions allowed.

Fields Ripe for Harvesting

Grace and Gladys Gregory were among those who shared in opening the Nagoya home. They found the territory ripe  for harvesting. In April 1951, Grace met 18-year-old Isamu Sugiura, who was working for a piano dealer. Gladys recalls: “Isamu’s mother had raised him in a Shinto sect, and he had been told that Japan was shinshu (divine land) and that the kamikaze (divine wind) would protect Japan and help them win the war. His faith in the Japanese gods was shattered, however, when Japan surrendered and he experienced the terrible economic conditions and food shortages caused by the war. His father died from malnutrition the year after the war ended. Young Isamu responded to the hope of a paradise earth and was baptized at a circuit assembly in October 1951.”

About 50 missionaries attended that assembly, along with some 250 Japanese. Isamu was deeply impressed by the fact that the missionaries were freely mixing with the Japanese without prejudice, though World War II had ended just six years earlier. After 45 years of whole-souled service, including Gilead School and circuit and district work, Brother Sugiura is now serving at Bethel in Ebina as a member of the Branch Committee.

Gladys Gregory remembers calling on a woman who had been a nominal Buddhist and who later had turned to churches of Christendom; but she had left these, in disillusionment. She had become disappointed when the pastors could not clearly explain who God is and why they did not use God’s personal name, although it occurred nearly 7,000 times in her Bible (the Bungotai, old classic version). Instead of answering her many questions, her clergyman had told her to “just believe.” She obtained a copy of The Watchtower (published monthly in Japanese since May 1951) that Gladys had placed with her next-door neighbor. Impressed by what she read, she searched out Gladys. Regarding this experience, Gladys later said: “When she saw the Bible’s answers to her questions, these touched her heart. She immediately came to  the Congregation Book Study. There she heard the service announcements for the following day and expressed her desire to go too. We tried to slow her down by telling her that she needed to study a little first. She said: ‘OK, I’ll study, but I want to go in the service too!’ She did, and she put in more than 50 hours that first month! Within a year she was baptized and started pioneering, and later she served as a productive special pioneer. At 80 years of age, she is still in the pioneer service.”

Jehovah Made It Grow

Five missionary sisters who were assigned to Osaka in 1951 were pleased that many people came right to the missionary home for their studies. But these new missionaries had a hard time distinguishing one Japanese person from another. Lena Winteler, from Switzerland, says: “When the people arrived, all five of us would go in a group and let them choose their correct conductor.” Endeavoring to imitate Japanese custom, the missionaries would line up slippers to be used by the people who came to the home, but the missionaries did not know the difference between slippers for guests and slippers for the bathroom. One day a student took Lena aside and explained: “We don’t put out toilet slippers for guests.” The missionaries gradually learned.

 From time to time, the missionary brothers in Kobe would visit Osaka to give some assistance to the five single sisters there. Only a handful of publishers were in all Osaka at the time. On one occasion, Lloyd Barry joined some of the Osaka missionaries at an open-air operatic concert at the large baseball stadium at Koshien. The comment was made: ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could fill this stadium with an assembly some day!’ A seeming impossibility.

Toward the end of 1994, however, Brother Barry, now a member of the Governing Body, in Brooklyn, was invited to give the dedication talk at the newly built Hyogo Assembly Hall, serving the 52 congregations in the Kobe area. It was a delightful meeting, attended by a number of the original Japanese publishers there. A much larger assembly was planned for the following day. And where was this to be held? In no other place than the Koshien Baseball Stadium. More than 40,000 assembled, and what an orderly group they were! Many also attended in 40 other locations throughout Japan, being tied in by telephone. Thus the total of those present came to over  254,000—even more than attended the huge New York assembly of 1958. How wonderfully Jehovah has ‘made it grow’ in Japan!—1 Cor. 3:6, 7.

Early in 1951 a missionary home was opened in Yokohama. This city also proved to be a most fruitful field. The original home servant, Gordon Dearn, now a widower, continues his full-time service at the Tokyo branch at Ebina. Today there are 114 congregations in Yokohama, and the expansion continues, with the local brothers taking up where the missionaries left off.

In 1952 a missionary home was also established in the city of Kyoto. Missionaries from Osaka and Kobe were transferred to Kyoto to join the zealous group of new missionaries there. In April 1954, Lois Dyer and Molly Heron were also reassigned from Kobe to Kyoto.

In Kyoto, there are about a thousand temples, almost one on every corner. The city had not been bombed during the war, in order to preserve the temples. Lois remembers: “While there, we met Shozo Mima, a grocery wholesaler who was recovering at home from a lengthy illness. Although a zealous Buddhist, he told me that he wanted to know about the true God. It was very easy to start a Bible study with him. Later his wife and daughters also studied, and the whole family came into the truth. Congenial Shozo became a spiritual pillar in the Kyoto Congregation.”

Margrit Winteler, from Switzerland, joined her older sister Lena in Kyoto. She found out that in this new assignment she had to get used to the unspoken word as well as the spoken. For example, a man who expected his wife to make the decision whether to accept literature might simply wave his pinkie (little finger) to indicate that she was not at home. The  wife, on the other hand, might hold up her thumb, which represented the husband, and say he was not at home. Margrit came to realize that when the people in Kyoto simply kept looking at the magazines being offered, carefully turning a page at a time, they were actually refusing them by body language and wanted her to realize it without their having to say so. By no means, though, were all the replies, whether by words or by body language, negative. Today there are 39 thriving congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kyoto.

Dealing With Cold Winters and a New Language

When more missionaries, including Adeline Nako and her partner Lillian Samson, arrived in Japan from Hawaii in 1953, they were assigned to the cold northern city of Sendai. Nighttime temperatures would drop to 23 degrees Fahrenheit [-5°C]. Don and Mabel Haslett had established the new missionary home there the previous October and had been joined by Shinichi and Masako Tohara. Having been raised in the tropics, the Hawaiians found the cold winters in Sendai a challenge. They came to be known as the “fresh frozen Hawaiians.”

Lillian recalls: “For the first time in our lives, we learned how to chop wood for a cookstove. There was heat only in the kitchen, so we would try to warm our beds with a yutanpo, a metal Japanese bed warmer. During the day, we would buy ishi-yakiimo (stone-baked sweet potatoes), place them in our pockets as hand warmers, and then eat them for lunch.”

It was not only the cold that presented problems, however. Until the missionaries learned to read Japanese characters, there were awkward situations. Adeline has not yet forgotten the day when, because of her inability to read Japanese, she pushed an emergency fire alarm, thinking it was a red doorbell.  People came pouring out of their apartments to see what had happened. She got a good scolding for that one.

The memories of those missionaries, however, include much more than personal experiences during their early years in Japan. For them, the many thousands of their Japanese brothers and sisters and the events that they have shared together all have a place in their “family album.” We invite you to examine the pages of that album as we look back on other events that have contributed to the growth of the theocratic society in Japan.

Special Pioneers Open New Fields

The activity of special pioneers has been a significant factor in spreading the Kingdom message to the far corners of the land. Some of these were personally trained by the missionaries, and they show the same caliber of zeal for Jehovah. In parallel with the work of the missionaries, these Japanese special pioneers were sent out to smaller cities and towns. Many of the early special pioneers, though baptized only a short time when appointed, have shown exceptional devotion and endurance.

After having been baptized for only a year and four months, Hisako Wakui received her appointment. She and her partner, Takako Sato, have been special pioneers together since 1957. Between them, in nine assignments, they have helped over 80 persons to become baptized Witnesses.

Regarding the results from Jehovah’s blessing on one of the first Bible studies that she conducted, Hisako reports: “She was a zealous churchgoer, but she said, ‘If it is a Bible study, I can do it every day.’ Upon learning that God’s name is Jehovah and that he is the Father of Jesus, she quit the church and was soon out in the field service.” Her zeal did not wane when she moved to a very cold area where there was no  congregation. Today, her husband and four children are all in the truth. The three boys serve as elders, and her daughter is a special pioneer.

When they were in Tsuru, Yamanashi Prefecture, Hisako and Takako found that growth was very slow in coming. Only four or five attended the meetings. The circuit overseer thought that perhaps they should be reassigned to more fruitful territory, but the sisters were not eager to leave Tsuru. They strongly felt that, since Jehovah had sent them to Tsuru, he must have sheep there. So the circuit overseer said: “If 18 people come to the public discourse this weekend, I will convey to the Society your desire to remain in this assignment.” The pioneers did everything that they Scripturally could to get people to the Sunday meeting. Amazingly, 19 attended! The next week, the attendance went back to four or five, but the pioneers were able to continue their work in that territory. Today the Tsuru Congregation has a fine group of publishers and a beautiful Kingdom Hall.

Kazuko Kobayashi is another special pioneer who has served for 40 years in opening new territories. When Pauline Green, a missionary in Kyoto, first met her, Kazuko had been seeking to find out the purpose of life. Pauline showed her Ecclesiastes 12:13, and this satisfied Kazuko. She concluded that the missionary’s way of life most closely matched the way a Christian should live, so she made such a life her own goal. When appointed as a special pioneer, she had been baptized for only three years. But she soon began to experience Jehovah’s loving hand of protection in her special service, and she saw good results. Kazuko also understood how people in the rural villages felt—that fear of what others might think influences their decisions. How did she deal with this? She says: “I made efforts to become their friend. I love people, and wherever  I went I tried to remember that Jehovah loves them too. Then it was easy to become their friend.”

In March 1971, the branch office sent out more new special pioneers to preach in isolated territories. Typical were two young sisters just out of their teens, Akemi Idei (now Ohara), adopted daughter of Miyo Idei, and Kazuko Yoshioka (now Tokumori), who were assigned to Kaga in central Japan. Until then, they had served under the protective “umbrella” of their parents and their congregations. “Now, things were different,” recalls Kazuko. “We were the only ones declaring the good news in the territory to which we were assigned.” To help break the ice with the people, who were suspicious of strangers, they practiced introducing themselves in the local dialect, using exactly the same intonation as the people used. Among those who accepted the truth were three young men on a track team. Kazuko relates that when the three started to go out in the field ministry, she had a hard time keeping up with them. They had been long-distance runners, and they would literally run from one farmhouse to the next.

As zealous special pioneers witnessed in formerly unassigned territories, the number of congregations and isolated groups increased, reaching the 1,000 mark in January 1976.

Developments in Okinawa

Progress was being made in the Okinawan islands too. Those islands, with a population of 1,200,000, had come under the administration of the United States following World War II. The Okinawans are by nature quiet, patient, warm, and friendly. Our Okinawan brothers and sisters also display the fine qualities of endurance and zeal for the truth.

Okinawa was assigned to the Japan branch, and Lloyd Barry, by then branch overseer in Tokyo, paid his first visit there in 1953. He was met by four brothers, all reconstruction workers from the Philippines, who immediately drove him to the  U.S. Army’s correction center, where three soldiers were being detained. These young men had taken their stand for Bible truth but were rather tactless. They went to extremes. For example, they kept the entire facility awake by loudly singing Kingdom songs late into the night. They were helped to be more balanced. Incidentally, the prison chaplain remarked that, as he viewed matters, Christ’s Kingdom was a thousand years away. One of these young men later served as a member of the Brooklyn Bethel family; all three became responsible servants in the Christian congregation. During that visit a meeting was held with more than 100 islanders assembled in a Quonset hut.

A native Okinawan, Yoshi Higa, was in attendance at that meeting. In Okinawa it is the custom to dispose of the remains of the dead in a large cave, whose entrance is shaped like a womb—indicating that those who die return to the place from which they came. Yoshi had found shelter in such  a cave during the terrible Battle of Okinawa in World War II. Looking at the human remains there, she had become convinced that the dead were really dead. On studying the Bible, she readily accepted its teaching on the condition of the dead and the wonderful resurrection hope.

Yoshi became the first Okinawan publisher and the first regular pioneer. The local radio station had been eager to broadcast Bible discussions, but Christendom’s clergy were lax in providing programs. However, they found that Yoshi was most willing to fill the gap. For several months she read articles from Watchtower magazines.

Soon it was possible to arrange a circuit assembly for some 12 new local publishers, the program parts being handled in Japanese, alternately by Adrian Thompson and by Lloyd Barry. The work expanded quickly, the numbers of publishers and pioneers increasing by leaps and bounds.

 Yoshi Higa entered the pioneer work in May 1954. Through 43 years of faithful pioneer ministry, she has helped over 50 individuals to learn the truth, many of her first “letters of recommendation” coming from the local Shuri church. (2 Cor. 3:1-3) She continues in the pioneer work in Ginowan.

Another very enthusiastic Witness is Mitsuko Tomoyori, a widow, who began pioneering with her daughter Masako in 1957 in Shuri, the ancient capital of Okinawa. Mitsuko’s eyes still sparkle as she tells about the past 40 years that she has enjoyed in the pioneer service and about the many people whom she has helped to embrace the truth that leads to everlasting life.

In 1965, the Watch Tower Society established a branch in Okinawa, with Hawaiian missionary Shinichi Tohara as branch overseer. (He is of Okinawan descent.) This arrangement continued even after the islands were transferred back to Japanese government control in 1972. When the Branch Committee arrangement was put into effect in February 1976, Shinichi Tohara, James Linton (an Australian missionary), and  Chukichi Une (a native Okinawan and Gilead graduate) were appointed to serve on the committee.

Perseverance Needed

During the 1976 service year, in an effort to expand the preaching of the good news, special pioneers were assigned to more of the islands under the Okinawa branch. On some of the islands, there was good response. On others it took many years before custom, superstition, and strong family ties could be surmounted. A great deal of perseverance was needed by the special pioneers assigned to work there. Because of the local distrust of outsiders, it was often nearly impossible for them to find accommodations despite there being many vacant houses. Sometimes the only house available was where someone had committed suicide. But, because of local superstition, such a house could not be used as a meeting place.

Nevertheless, with much perseverance, the pioneers began to see fruitage. On the island of Tokuno Shima, a family came to the public talk during the circuit overseer’s visit. The father had an active interest in the very popular local sport of bull fighting. (Bulls are pitted against each other to determine which one has the greater pushing strength.) He had a prize bull trained for the contests. But his interest had been aroused in the Bible through a daughter to whom Jehovah’s Witnesses had talked in Japan. The family accepted a Bible study, and he, his wife, his daughter, and three sons became dedicated Witnesses. Two neighboring families also came into the truth. This group became a real beehive of activity. There is now a congregation of 49 publishers and 16 pioneers on this small island.

On the remote southern island of Ishigaki, the publishers were surprised to have a young man, a well-known boxer, search them out and ask for a Bible study. He had studied  previously in Yokohama, but he had been afraid to face up to the responsibility to which Bible truth pointed. In order to avoid it, he had fled to Iriomote, a sparsely populated island where he felt sure there would be none of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Before long, though, he came across Watch Tower publications and was stunned when he realized that Jehovah’s Witnesses had preached there too. He concluded that there was no way he could run away from before Jehovah. (Compare Jonah 1:3.) Using the address of a publisher that was written in one of the publications, he searched out the Witnesses on the nearby island of Ishigaki. In a short time, he became a dedicated Witness and an enthusiastic pioneer.

Following a zone visit by Milton Henschel in September 1980, Okinawa again came under the Japan branch. Brother Tohara and his wife, and Brother Une and his wife, continued in the full-time service in Okinawa, and Brother and Sister Linton returned to the district work on the larger islands of Japan.

Traveling Brothers Play an Important Role

Because of the self-sacrificing spirit of the traveling overseers and their wives, they have been able to contribute in many ways to the growth and maturity of the Japanese congregations. Their service has an upbuilding effect on the congregations. The brothers realize that these overseers and their wives have left ‘houses and mother and father for the sake of the good news.’—Mark 10:29.

When circuit overseers visited the congregations in the earlier days, there was very little housing available that afforded any real privacy. But their cheerfully accepting whatever was available endeared them to the brothers. Keiichi Yoshida recalls with humor a time as recently as 1983 when he and  his wife stayed with a single brother and his unbelieving family in a large farmhouse in the northern part of Honshu. He says: “We were warmly greeted by the family and shown to our quarters—a room with a large Buddhist altar. As we were retiring, without warning, Grandpa, in his night wear, opened the sliding door and, without saying a word to us, rang the altar bell, lit the incense, said his prayers, and walked out the opposite side of the room. Others followed. We spent the entire week with the excitement of not knowing when or from which direction the altar visits would come. But we spent an enjoyable week with this kind and hospitable family.”

The traveling overseers, at present numbering 209, have an average of about 20 years in the full-time service. The majority of them were formerly special pioneers. This background enables them to give fine training in door-to-door witnessing. Their enthusiasm for the field service has contributed much to the excellent pioneer spirit in Japan.

Some of these circuit overseers have helped motivate individuals and families to move to areas where there has been a greater need for Kingdom Witnesses. Others have given special attention to unbelieving mates, with the result that some have become baptized Witnesses. Youths too have been helped to reach out for spiritual goals as a result of the special personal interest shown them and the example set by the traveling brothers.

Missionaries Continue to Share

By the 1970’s the missionaries were being assigned to smaller cities. In these places people tended to be more conservative and tradition-bound, so the disciple-making work progressed more slowly. Where there were congregations, the missionaries helped the local brothers to gain experience by  letting them take the lead. Akita, Gifu, Kofu, Kawaguchi, Kochi, Nagano, Wakayama, and Yamagata were some of the cities where they served.

Patiently they endeavored to help local Witnesses appreciate the wisdom of embracing the full range of Bible truth. (Heb. 6:1) Masao Fujimaki, presiding overseer of a congregation in Kofu, recalls when the congregation was studying the book Making Your Family Life Happy. An elderly brother had trouble with the instruction for husbands to express affection openly for their wives. He said: “This is of course impossible for those of us educated before the war.” Privately Richard Bailey, one of the missionaries in the congregation, kindly helped him, saying: ‘The truths we study should transcend national background or generation; they always apply and are always beneficial. If we minimize any part of the truth, we may become emboldened to reject even more important aspects of it.’ (Luke 16:10) The brother got the point, and after that he was seen sitting happily with his wife—a new experience for them.

In other ways too, local Witnesses benefited by associating with the missionaries. One sister had this to say: “They were cheerful and knew how to serve God with joy. I also learned from them the importance of adhering to principles based on love rather than making rules.”—Deut. 10:12; Acts 13:52.

The missionaries helped many to feel more keenly that they were part of a worldwide brotherhood. Kazuko Sato, who first studied in Tokyo with Melba Barry, remembers how she was strengthened while pioneering in a rural area where there was much religious animosity. Feeling lonely, she wrote to the missionaries with whom she had associated in her previous congregation: “I am preaching all alone.” A letter came back with messages from several missionaries, some painstakingly  written in Japanese phonetics, saying: “Kazuko, you are not alone! Listen, and from beyond the apple orchard you will hear the sound of feet, the feet of zealous and faithful brothers from around the world.”—Compare Revelation 7:9, 10.

At present, 41 missionaries still serve from five missionary homes in Japan—in Yamagata, Iwaki, Toyama, and two in Tokyo. In addition, nine missionaries serve in the traveling work, and nine at Bethel in Ebina. These missionaries have set a fine example in loyalty to Jehovah and his organization. By word and by deed, they have contributed to a ‘widening out’ of viewpoint and a deepening of understanding of the truth on the part of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan.—2 Cor. 6:13; Eph. 3:18.

 Summer Activities to Cover Unassigned Territories

Others also shared in spreading the good news to the outlying cities and towns. In 1971 an invitation was extended to regular pioneers to work in unassigned territories during the summer months. Then in 1974, a temporary-special-pioneer arrangement for the three summer months was introduced. Every year, 50 temporary special pioneers were assigned to 25 different areas, and large amounts of literature were placed.

By 1980, there remained only about 7,800,000 persons living in territories not assigned to any congregation in Japan. So instead of assigning temporary special pioneers, the branch office invited congregations, groups of regular pioneers, and families to work in the unassigned territories during the summer months. For the Japanese Witnesses, who feel more at ease when doing everything together, this was an enjoyable prospect.

The results were heartwarming. In 1986, a publisher who was working in an unassigned territory approached a house on a mountain in the village of Miwa in Ibaraki Prefecture and was welcomed by a housewife who had in her hands the books Making Your Family Life Happy and My Book of Bible Stories. She had obtained those books on an earlier occasion and had read them many times. She had looked in vain for a Bible in bookstores and so was pleased when she heard that a Christian family was going to be moving into the village. A Bible study was promptly started, and now the whole family is in the truth.

Gradually the remaining towns and villages were assigned to nearby congregations.

Specialized Instruction for the Elders

As the preaching of the good news spread out, the number and the size of the congregations also grew. Often there was  only one qualified brother, maybe two, to take the lead in a congregation. Few of these had received much training in congregation matters. But following the introduction of the elder arrangement on October 1, 1972, newly appointed elders were invited to the branch office at Numazu and were given two weeks of specialized instruction.

This school was a real milestone. The instructors tried to help the brothers see the importance of showing genuine love and of being balanced and reasonable in dealing with fellow Witnesses. (2 Cor. 1:24) They also emphasized the importance of looking after one’s own family spiritually. (1 Tim. 3:4; 5:8) This was not usually stressed in Oriental households.

The brothers were eager to take home all the instruction they could from the school. However, many were inclined to learn by rote as they had done during their formal school days. Takashi Abe, one of the instructors, recalls: “The students would sit up till late at night laboriously writing out notes from the day’s discussions. We tried to discourage them from taking a lot of notes and making rules but, rather, urged them to use their thinking ability and to apply Bible principles.”—Rom. 12:1; Heb. 5:14.

Many brothers attended this school at great personal sacrifice. Some traveled from snowy Hokkaido, 800 miles [1,300 km] to the north; others, from subtropical Okinawa, 1,100 miles [1,800 km] to the south. Included were ones who faced the prospect of having to find new secular employment upon returning to their families. In 1977 two-day school sessions were held in various localities throughout the country. This made it much easier for the brothers to attend.

Dealing With Family Opposition

Becoming a Christian in Japan is not without its challenges. “Especially in the rural territories, new ones receive  much opposition from relatives living in the community,” explains Hiroko Eto, who has been a pioneer for 37 years. “The relatives are embarrassed to have a family member different from others in the community, and fear of man is very strong.”

Hiroko’s mother, Yuriko Eto, had loved the Bible even before coming in contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses. But, in 1954, when they helped her to appreciate God’s purpose not only to take a little flock of faithful Christians to heaven but also to make the earth a paradise filled with happy servants of Jehovah, she was eager to share this good news with others. She and her children have patiently helped many to overcome fear of man in order to gain Jehovah’s approval.

Regarding her efforts to help a sincere woman, Hiroko had the following experience. A housewife who started to study faced opposition from her mother-in-law, with whom she and her husband lived. Not wanting to disrupt the family peace, the housewife stopped the study. “I would watch for her on the road and encourage her to be kind to her mother-in-law,” Hiroko says, “and to show by example the good effect of studying the Bible. She tactfully asked her husband questions about what she was studying and gradually got him interested. At first her husband told her: ‘In a rural area like this, it is impossible to be a Christian.’ However, love for Jehovah helped them to overcome much opposition.” Now they and their oldest son are baptized. The husband, a ministerial servant, conducts the Congregation Book Study at his home, and his mother surprised everybody by attending the meeting when he gave his first public talk.

Often the opposition comes from marriage mates. Some husbands oppose because of jealousy or because they grew up in surroundings where male chauvinism is common.  When newly married Keiko Ichimaru started to study the Bible in the early 1970’s, her husband, Hiroyuki, strongly opposed her and told her not to attend the meetings. “I just couldn’t stand the thought of playing second fiddle to religion,” Hiroyuki later explained. Keiko loved her husband, so she tactfully asked him to check whether what she was studying was good. He decided to study the Bible on his own but could not understand it. Finally he asked his wife if he could sit in on her study. They both became baptized Witnesses. Eventually, Hiroyuki became a regular pioneer and now is an elder.

After the work of Kingdom proclamation began in Chikugo in 1971, Mayuki Sakamoto was one of the first to accept the Bible’s message. Her husband, Toyota, opposed when his wife and young son began to attend the meetings in a neighboring city. Determined to stop her, Toyota intensified his opposition. For 14 years, even after she got baptized in 1973, he continued his opposition. One time, he pointed a gun at her and shouted: “I’m going to kill you if you don’t quit!” Her calm response intrigued Toyota. He wondered what made her so firm.

Through all of that, Mayuki sought to show love for her husband. She never gave up trying to help him learn the truth. (1 Pet. 3:1, 2) One day, Toyota, annoyed by the fact that his wife and his son were pioneering while he worked secularly, went to his workplace and quit his job. This was a major move on his part because Japanese men generally view their work as  almost sacred. Toyota hoped that his wife and his son would feel sorry for him. But when he came home and told them what he had done, they clapped their hands. This made Toyota think. Soon he started to study. In time he joined them in the pioneer work, and he now serves as a Christian elder.

At the beginning of the 1970’s, men attending our meetings for the first time would often remark that only women and children were present. But since then, tens of thousands of men have made excellent spiritual progress. Now the organization has a solid infrastructure of spiritually mature men who are caring for all the organizational needs. Among them are some who were opposers back in the 1970’s.

The Pioneers Go to School

Because of the high percentage of pioneer ministers (25 to 30 percent) in each congregation in the 1970’s, there were many enrollees for the Pioneer Service School, which began in January 1978 in Japan. This schooling has contributed greatly to the maturity of the congregations.

The first ones invited to the school were special pioneers, missionaries, and traveling overseers along with their wives. Shigeru Yoshioka, one of the original instructors, recalls: “It was a big help to have these experienced pioneers in the early classes. What we learned from the comments and experiences of these mature ministers, we were able to share with later classes.”

Beginning in February 1980, the Pioneer Service School was held in each circuit. Circuit overseers and other mature brothers who had attended the course served as instructors. In the eight years following the school’s inauguration, there was, on an average, a 22-percent yearly increase in the number of regular pioneers, compared with a 12-percent increase in publishers.  Now, most circuits regularly have two or more pioneer classes of from 25 to 30 students each year.

Most of the pioneers attending this school are still quite new in the truth, but as a result of the schooling, they gain confidence and skill in their ministry and they learn invaluable lessons in Christian living. One pioneer put it this way: “Until now, service, child training, Christian personality, and Bible knowledge were all mixed up in the drawer of my mind. Through the ten-day school course, though, I was able to get them all sorted out into their proper places.” As of September 1997, 3,650 classes had been held, with 87,158 pioneers attending.

All Sorts of People Have Responded

People from a wide variety of backgrounds make up the colorful fabric of the theocratic organization in Japan. Toshiaki Niwa is a mild-mannered elder in a congregation in Yokohama. But at the end of World War II, he was being trained to pilot an Ohka, a rocket glider, for a kamikaze suicide attack against U.S. naval vessels. Such service was viewed as evidence of devotion to the emperor. However, the war ended before he had an opportunity to die for his country. Later his wife studied the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. When Toshiaki learned that the Witnesses had maintained strict neutrality during the war, he too became interested. In 1977 he joined his wife in sharing with others the Bible’s message of peace.

In the entertainment world too, we have found people who gladly changed their life-style to become praisers of Jehovah. Yoshihiro Nagasaki had formed a Dixieland jazz band with several college friends. They asked a man who had taught them jazz to become their band leader. This man, Yoshimasa  Kasai, one of Japan’s foremost jazz musicians, had in the meantime come in contact with “Trummy” Young, a trumpeter visiting from Hawaii. “Right from that day, lessons started, not in music, but in the truth,” reminisces Yoshihiro, who now serves on the Branch Committee. “We were not interested, no, not in the least, but because he was so enthusiastic and we did not want to lose him as our band leader, we listened to him.” They even agreed to study. The turning point for Yoshihiro, however, was when he attended a circuit assembly in April 1966. At the assembly, a high school student whom he had previously met invited Yoshihiro to join her in the field service. She witnessed from the Bible, and he gave handbills to the householders. “For the first time, the truth really began to mean something to me,” he recalls. After attending that assembly, he went in the service every day and made rapid progress. Four out of six members of that band are now active Witnesses.

Shinji Sato was a priest at the famous Izumo Shrine in Shimane Prefecture, one of the most important Shinto shrines in Japan. He also served as an instructor of the Izumo Oyashirokyo  sect. Though he had served as a Shinto priest for almost 20 years, he had become disillusioned with the injustice and the lack of love that he observed among the priests. He had come to realize that the Shinto gods offered no salvation, and he began a search for the true God. He started to read the Bible, but he still had many questions.

It was then that, on the street, he met an acquaintance whom he knew to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. So he asked questions that he felt would identify the true religion: “Is your religion free from politics? Is yours a nonprofit organization? Do your teachings come from God rather than from men? Do the people at your headquarters practice what they preach?” Then he asked: “If your organization meets these conditions, will you be kind enough to teach me the Bible?” What a relief it was for him when he finally broke free from Babylon the Great! (Rev. 18:4) He says: “Now, being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and teaching others the way of the true God, I feel just as it is recorded in Proverbs: ‘The blessing of Jehovah—that is what makes rich, and he adds no pain with it.’”—Prov. 10:22.

Famous artists and musicians, a comic writer, a sumo wrestler, and professional bicyclists have all left their past glories. Professionals such as physicians, a noted calligrapher, and lawyers have seen the light of truth and are using their skills to promote Kingdom interests. Former gangsters, hoodlums, policemen, and politicians are peacefully dwelling together with their spiritual brothers. (Isa. 11:6-9) Buddhist monks, Shinto priests, and a founder of her own religion have come out of Babylon the Great. (Rev. 18:2) Schoolteachers, prominent Japanese businessmen, and artisans with various skills are working together on theocratic projects. Jehovah’s organization has grown to include all sorts of people who have  been helped to “put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.”—Eph. 4:24.

Enthusiastic Pioneer Spirit

In spite of the shrinking territory and growing religious apathy, there continues to be great enthusiasm for the pioneer service. In the spring, when large numbers of auxiliary pioneers join the pioneer ranks, the total of all pioneers swells to more than 50 percent of the publishers. In March 1997, 108,737 were serving as pioneers.

A question often asked is, “Why are there so many pioneers in Japan?” There appear to be several factors. The foundation for postwar growth in Japan was laid by zealous missionaries, and appreciative students endeavor to imitate those who teach them. (Luke 6:40) As a result, a heritage of zeal for the ministry was passed on to the next generation of disciples. Also, it is generally true that Japanese homes are quite modest, thus requiring little time for upkeep, and for the most part, lives are traditionally kept simple. This can make it easier for housewives to give priority to spiritual interests. (Matt. 6:22, 33) Additionally, the climate is generally moderate in Japan, and there have been favorable political and economic conditions in the country.

Cultural background and national traits appear to be still another factor. On the whole, the Japanese people are obedient to directions, responsive to encouragement from the group, and enthusiastic in their work. Touching on this, Shinichi Tohara, a Japanese-American who came to Japan as one of the first postwar missionaries, said: ‘Kamikaze pilots died for the emperor by aiming their aircraft at the enemy warships. If the Japanese are that faithful to human lords, what would  they do if they found the true Lord, Jehovah?’ Yes, a keen desire to please Jehovah is behind every application to pioneer.

Parents Who Pioneer

Who are the pioneers? A majority are sisters, most of whom are married and have children. Many pioneer without spiritual support from unbelieving husbands and relatives.

“When I started to pioneer, my youngest daughter was just a few months old,” says Mutsuko of Fujisawa, who has been pioneering for over 20 years. “My husband, working for a bank, usually did not get home until after we got back from our evening meetings. Even though it required a great deal of effort, I wanted to continue my pioneering.” She was rewarded when all three of her children, upon graduating from high school, joined her in the pioneer service. After many years of opposition and then indifference, her husband too began to change. What a joy it was to Mutsuko when, in the congregation, she listened to her son deliver the first half of a public talk, followed by her husband, who gave the rest!

Pioneering fathers too exercise a fine influence. Hisataka knew that his father had quit his position as a teacher of data processing so that he could pioneer. During Hisataka’s summer vacation from grade school, his father invited him to accompany him on his job, delivering milk early in the morning. “About the time the eastern sky became filled with glorious hues of orange,” Hisataka recalls, “Father expressed to me his intimate feelings about how rewarding it is to serve Jehovah whole-souled. Seeing him joyfully toil for Jehovah moved me more than any words possibly could.” Hisataka now serves as a member of the Ebina Bethel family.

Saved From Karoshi

“If you are dying to work, join a Japanese company,” some have said in jest. This is because a typical Japanese family man  is extremely devoted to his work and spends many long hours at his place of employment. However, many a father who was once working himself to karoshi (death from overwork) is now dedicated, not to a secular company, but to Jehovah God and has joined his family in the pioneer service.

Shunji from the Kobe area, who used to work for a major construction enterprise, says: “What was driving me was attachment to my business and a desire for success. When work sites were far from home, I returned to my family only for short weekends at best.” What changed all of that? He answers: “I was afraid of death, worrying about what might happen to my family if I should die. I was puzzled as to why my wife and son were always so joyful about going out preaching.” While Shunji was helping the local congregation with technical details involved in building their Kingdom Hall, an elder encouraged him to have a Bible study. He did, and now he shares with his family the joy of regular pioneer service. He also enjoys serving on a Regional Building Committee.

It takes real faith and a self-sacrificing spirit for family heads to leave what has been viewed as assured lifelong company employment and then to work at somewhat unstable part-time jobs in order to have the time needed for the pioneer ministry. The father of Mitsunobu from Chiba changed his job. At the large company where he used to work and where his former colleagues had moved into managerial positions, he went from office to office, collecting wastepaper for recycling. With true appreciation, Mitsunobu says: “How I thank my parents, who personally taught me how to appreciate the treasure of pioneer service, thus helping me make it my own career!” Those who make such adjustments in life have the conviction that financial rewards are only temporary and that spiritual treasures are of far greater value.—Matt. 6:19-21.

 Take Care to Live Longer!

Serious health problems have also been surmounted by some who earnestly desire to do their utmost in Jehovah’s service. “At best, you will live to see your son grow up. Never overwork yourself, but take every care to live longer.” So said the doctor who diagnosed Yaeko Ono’s health problems involving her heart. Her son was then three years old. “How can I lead the rest of my life without having any regrets?” she asked herself as she went home from the hospital. By the time she arrived at home, she had resolved to become a pioneer. When her relatives learned about this, they were concerned, but that did not change her mind. She says: ‘I started pioneering in September 1978. I did not know then that I was pregnant. My mother became seriously ill. My own condition worsened. Yet, Jesus’ words gave me courage: “With faith the size of a mustard grain a mountain can be transferred.” (Matt. 17:20) I decided to do my best.’

After 17 years, Yaeko said: “I feel that Jehovah’s comforting arms have been around me.” Problems sometimes almost overwhelmed her, but she would recount Jehovah’s blessings, and this helped her to persevere. Influenced by her zeal, her husband began to study. And her joy was capped when, in answer to her fervent prayers, he became her pioneer partner!

This is the caliber of pioneers in Japan. Many more could be mentioned—ones such as the brother who was paralyzed from his neck down but was a constant source of encouragement to others as he served as a pioneer chiefly through correspondence, the sister who was born right at the turn of the century and spent her final 13 years till 1994 as a pioneer in a snowbound area, and the blind elder who moved to a town to pioneer and help the small congregation there. All of these, like the faithful witnesses of old, though having physical weaknesses, “were made powerful” by God to do his will.—Heb. 11:32-34.

 New World Translation Into Japanese

Worldwide, use of the Bible itself in the public ministry has been an identifying mark of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In Japan the publishers earnestly desired to have an accurate, easy-to-read Bible in modern Japanese. Many had struggled with the classic version. In spite of its beautiful expressions and consistent use of God’s sacred name, it was hard for those educated after the war to understand its antiquated syntax. Therefore, in January 1970 the brothers at the branch were absolutely delighted to receive a letter from headquarters authorizing the translating of the Greek portion of the New World Translation into Japanese.

Three years later, at the “Divine Victory” International Assembly at Osaka, a crowd of 31,263 applauded with uninhibited delight when Lyman Swingle, of the Governing Body, announced the release of the Japanese edition of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. During the nine years following its release, 1,140,000 copies were distributed, approximately 75 times as many as the number of publishers at the time it was first published. That Bible was printed in the United States, but the day was not far off when such printing and binding would be done in our facilities in Japan.

Could Meeting Places Be Improved?

As the number of congregations continued to multiply throughout Japan, it became increasingly obvious that suitable meeting places were sorely needed. Prior to the 1970’s, very few congregations owned their meeting place. In fact, there were only nine Kingdom Halls dedicated during the entire decade of the 1960’s. Most congregations met in rented public halls or in private homes.

 Recalling the inconvenience of these “portable meetings,” Ai Nakamura, a sister in Hirosaki, says: “About 1963, we rented the city’s Education Hall every weekend, and on the days the hall was closed, the congregation of about 15 came to my house for the meetings. We all had to help in carrying the magazines, literature, portable speaker’s stand, and so forth, each time we had a meeting.” The rented halls often had a strong tobacco smell as well as political or religious slogans and trappings. None of this matched the spiritual content of the Witnesses’ meetings.

Molly Heron and Lois Dyer recall the hall they rented in Kyoto for meetings. It was a tatami, or straw mat, room on the second floor of a store. On either side, there were other rooms. On the one side, lessons on the samisen, a Japanese stringed instrument, were being given; on the other side, men were playing go, a Japanese checker game. “With that hullabaloo going on, we tried to conduct our Watchtower Study. It was what we had to use in those days,” said Lois Dyer. Because we had no permanent meeting places as the other religious groups did, people were inclined to feel that we were merely an insignificant, temporary sect.

But by the mid-1970’s, with the burgeoning numbers of new congregations, the brothers were searching out buildings that they could use as Kingdom Halls. By July 1974 the 646 congregations were using almost 200 Kingdom Halls throughout the country. Of these, 134 had been dedicated during the 1974 service year alone.

Although our brothers were limited financially, their ingenuity had no bounds. For example, on the island of Kyushu, the Kitakyushu Wakamatsu Congregation built a 1,400-square-foot [130 sq m] Kingdom Hall on a plot that was provided by one of the local publishers. The congregation obtained  used lumber and roofing tiles free of charge from five houses that were being demolished. They also obtained free wood from a public bath that was no longer in operation. The only building materials that they purchased were for the portions that would be visible when the hall was completed. From a nearby movie theater that went out of business, they obtained chairs free, repainted them, and installed them in the hall. After six months of hard work, the brothers had a fine Kingdom Hall.

 Because of exorbitant land prices, some Witnesses who owned property in the urban areas tore down their houses and rebuilt them with a Kingdom Hall on the first floor and their residence above.

Branch Construction Needed to Keep Abreast

Just as a child’s clothing is continually outgrown, so too the facilities used by the Japan branch have repeatedly needed enlargement in order to care for the growth in the number of Witnesses in the country. In 1971, plans had been drawn up for a three-story factory and a five-story Bethel Home to be built in Numazu, with a clear view of beautiful Mount Fuji.

Originally, the factory buildings were used primarily to print the Japanese edition of The Watchtower and Awake! In this regard, printing the special issue of Awake! October 8, 1972, on the newly installed 40-ton Tokyo Kikai rotary press was a milestone. It was the first magazine produced by our brothers at our printery in Numazu. But the pressroom crew had much to learn. At times they wondered whether they would ever be able to operate the press properly. “In those days,” said a brother on the press crew, “some letters were so thickly inked that you could almost read them by touch!” Other characters were faint or patchy. However, as the brothers gained experience, the quality of printing steadily improved and the number of magazines placed in the field ministry increased.

When Brother Knorr spoke at the dedication program for those branch facilities in Numazu in 1973, the guests assembled in the empty space on the third floor of the new factory. Referring to what that floor would be used for, he said: “This empty space represents your faith. We believe that this space will be needed in a year or two. God’s organization is moving forward, and at a very fast speed.”

 As Brother Knorr had predicted, the space was soon used up. By 1974 two more buildings were needed—one for storing supplies and the other to house the workers. “This was the first construction that the Witnesses undertook all by themselves in Japan,” says Toshio Honma. “We were a bit concerned as to whether there would be enough experienced workers or not. God blessed us by providing people like Tadazo Fukayama, a construction overseer with over 30 years’ experience with a major building contractor.”

After years of work that had taken him away from home, Tadazo had just quit his job in order to spend more time with his family. So he had mixed feelings when he was asked to consider the possibility of coming to Numazu to supervise the Bethel expansion. Would he have to leave his family behind again? “No!” came the response from the branch. His wife and two sons, 18 and 20 years of age, were also invited.

Although the structures built at that time were relatively small compared with what was to come, this project gave the brothers experience and the confidence that with Jehovah’s help they could tackle even greater projects.

Native Brothers Take Heavier Responsibility

In April 1975, Lloyd Barry, who had been the branch overseer since 1952, left Japan to serve as a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He had zealously shared in the work during the time that the theocratic organization grew from 8 publishers in 1949 to over 30,000 zealous Kingdom proclaimers. At his departure the oversight of the branch was entrusted to Toshio Honma, a native Japanese brother who was then serving as the factory overseer.

Regarding Brother Honma’s abilities, his assistant in the factory said: “Toshio wasn’t one to sit back and wait for someone to tell him what to do every step along the way. You could  give him a job and tell him, ‘This is the direction we’re going,’ and then he could take the ball and run. He was a good organizer and got people motivated.”

Another organizational change took place in February 1976. In unison with all the other branches throughout the world, the branch oversight in Japan was put under a committee of brothers rather than under a single branch overseer. The five initially appointed were Toshio Honma, the coordinator, Masataro Oda, Shigeo Ikehata, Kiichiro Tanaka, and James Mantz. This new arrangement was readily accepted by the Japanese brothers, as they were very familiar with the concept of group approach and consensus seeking in the decision-making process. One of the committee members later observed: “With the Branch Committee arrangement, the brothers look to a group of mature brothers as the representatives of the organization. This has the effect of directing the brothers’ attention to God’s organization rather than to an individual.” When a weighty decision must be made, this arrangement provides a group of spiritual men with varied backgrounds and abilities to consider it and to seek the direction of the holy spirit and of God’s Word.

In January 1983, Masataro Oda, who had served at Bethel since February 1960, became the coordinator. He replaced Brother Honma, who by this time had a two-year-old son to provide for. Others who have since served on the Branch Committee for varying periods of time include Ryosuke Fujimoto, Percy Iszlaub, Isamu Sugiura, Yoshihiro Nagasaki, Makoto Nakajima, Kenji Mimura, and Richard Bailey. Currently seven brothers serve on the Branch Committee. As the work has expanded, each of these brothers has humbly contributed his talents to the advancement of the interests of God’s Kingdom in this part of the world field.

“At this point, when we look back,” observes Brother  Oda, “we can see the divine wisdom in the committee arrangement. Since 1976, when the committee arrangement was inaugurated, the work has grown to where no one man could handle it alone. Jehovah gave the wisdom to the Governing Body to delegate the responsibility to many brothers, and in this way the smooth flow of the work has not been impeded.”

Local Brothers Organize Conventions

Similarly, in the 1970’s responsibility in connection with the organization of conventions began to be transferred to local Witnesses. One of the first Japanese district overseers to serve as convention overseer was Takashi Abe. He had gained valuable experience working along with missionaries such as Percy Iszlaub. Percy had been the convention overseer at the “Peace on Earth” International Assembly held at the Tokyo Korakuen Cycling Stadium in 1969. Two years later, Brother Abe served as the convention overseer for the national convention held at the same stadium. With the experience he had gained from the 1969 convention, the operation went smoothly. But heavier responsibility was to come.

In 1973, Brother Abe was appointed by the Society to be the convention overseer for a five-day “Divine Victory” International Assembly to be held in Osaka. An attendance of some 30,000 was expected, including 400 foreign delegates. His reaction? He recalls: “When I received the appointment letter, I became very ill and spent several days in bed, not even being able to sit up. I could only think about the challenge of organizing all the convention departments. How happy I was when, a few months before the convention, I received the booklet Convention Organization from the Society! By following Bible-based procedures, many problems were solved.”

One of the immediate challenges was to arrange for enough seats for all the delegates. The convention was to  be held in the Festival Plaza in the Expo (1970) Memorial Park in Osaka, but the plaza had no seats or stage. The surrounding congregations were asked for information regarding folding chairs that could be rented for the convention. All the school principals in one city were contacted. Also, the president of the biggest electric-appliance maker in Japan was asked if his company was willing to rent out chairs for the convention. A company representative met with the convention overseer concerning this request. Although the company did not have extra folding chairs that they could rent out, they willingly donated money for renting 5,000 chairs. Still more seats were needed. The solution? Make benches from scaffolding rented from a construction company. The benches were completed a few days before the convention, and an audience of 31,263 listened to the public talk. Because of their growing numbers, this was the last time that it was possible for all of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan and Okinawa to gather at one convention.

Five members of the Governing Body as well as the factory overseer from the world headquarters in Brooklyn attended the convention and encouraged the audience. Other delegates were on hand from Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, Guatemala, Hawaii, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New  Guinea, and the United States, making the convention truly international.

Following that Osaka convention, more local brothers began to shoulder the responsibilities of convention organization. This made it easier for the brothers to balance the preconvention work with their other responsibilities. In addition, traveling overseers could now concentrate on their assignment instead of devoting months before each convention to convention work.

1978 “Victorious Faith” International Conventions

The fourth international convention to be held in Japan was the five-day “Victorious Faith” Convention in 1978. This time, four convention sites were used in order to accommodate everyone. The main convention held in Osaka had a peak attendance of 31,785, including over 200 delegates from the  United States, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, as well as from other European, Asian, and South American countries. Three members of the Governing Body were on hand to take part in the convention program.

A fine spirit of cooperation had been cultivated over the years. The brothers had come to have full confidence that with Jehovah’s help they could handle even major theocratic assignments.

From Bowling Alley to Assembly Hall

It became evident that in addition to having Kingdom Halls, the brothers needed reliable access to larger facilities for assemblies. By the early 1970’s, many public facilities would not rent to religious groups, and contracts for gymnasiums could be canceled at the last minute because local sporting events had priority. Hirofumi Morohashi, who served as an assembly overseer in the Tokyo area for many years, recalls a particular incident that moved the brothers to start searching for their own Assembly Hall. He says: “In 1974 we made a deposit of 200,000 yen [$700, U.S.] for the use of a hall in an amusement park in Oyama City for our circuit assembly. Later, the amusement park went bankrupt. We had a very difficult time in trying to recover the deposit as well as in finding another location for the assembly.” Then Percy Iszlaub showed them pictures from Australia of an old weaving factory that had been converted into a beautiful Assembly Hall. The brothers in Tokyo felt that it was time for them to try something like that.

They located a bowling alley that was not in use. It was in Higashi-Matsuyama, on the outskirts of Tokyo. The owner of the building, having no knowledge of Jehovah’s Witnesses, wrote to a family with whom he had stayed in the United States and asked them about Jehovah’s Witnesses. He received  a very favorable reply telling him that Jehovah’s Witnesses were the most trustworthy religious group in the United States. From then on things went very smoothly, and a contract was made.

Thus, in December 1976, the first Assembly Hall in Japan was completed. Meanwhile, another significant construction project was under way.

Jehovah Directs the Move

By the time the expanded Numazu facilities were dedicated in 1977, there were more than 40,000 publishers. The branch was directed to look for land 300 percent larger than the Numazu property. An old textile factory was located in Ebina, midway between Numazu and Tokyo, with about 18 acres of property. This was 1,600 percent larger than the Numazu site. But would the Governing Body approve such a move in a country where land prices were incredibly high? This property would cost more than twice the amount the United States paid Russia in purchasing Alaska back in 1867. For a while, there was no response from headquarters. “Then, suddenly, Brother Barry came from New York with Max Larson, the Society’s Brooklyn factory overseer, to look at the plot, and we were given approval,” says Toshio Honma. “In looking back now on the increases we have had in the past 20 years, we thank Jehovah for guiding us to purchase that huge property.”

In January 1979 the construction of a two-floor factory, an office building, three residential buildings containing 161 Bethel rooms, a Kingdom Hall, and two smaller shop buildings was started. It was one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken by Jehovah’s Witnesses anywhere in the world until that time.

 Many family men with construction skills left their former jobs and moved their families to Ebina or surrounding cities in order to share in the building work. Yoshiaki Nishio was one of them. When he received his first invitation to share in the project as a plumber, he had just moved to a small town on Shikoku Island to serve where the need was greater. Since he had three small children, was then unemployed, and was low on funds, he at first declined. But when he received his third invitation by express mail, he felt that it was Jehovah telling him to go. He discussed the matter with his wife, who offered to support the family in his absence. “When I arrived at Bethel, I first realized that all five of us had been invited! It was incredible!” recalls Yoshiaki. The three children grew up to be pioneers, and one of them now serves as a member of the Bethel family at Ebina.

“Time and again we saw Jehovah open doors for us in connection with that construction,” recalls James Mantz, chairman of the Construction Committee. “We had what seemed like insurmountable walls in front of us. The Kanagawa Prefecture government had some of the strictest pollution-control laws in the whole country. We were told not to drain one drop of wastewater into the canal that ran through the property. But Jehovah opened up the way for us. The former factory on the property used to cool its machinery with water from three wells. The water drained into a canal and this was used to irrigate the neighbors’ crops. When the neighbors heard that this water supply was going to dry up, they went to the city office and complained, ‘We are dependent on the water coming out of that property for our crops.’ So the city officials reversed their decision and set a minimum amount of water that we had to put into the canal every day in order to supply the farmers. In addition to the purified wastewater that  went into the canal, we had to pump water from our wells to satisfy the farmers’ needs.”

With Frederick Franz, then president of the Watch Tower Society, present, the completed buildings were dedicated to Jehovah on May 15, 1982. Lloyd Barry and his wife, Melba, were also present and shared in the dedication program. As Brother Barry interviewed 14 of his fellow Gilead graduates who had been sent to Japan from the 11th class, the audience could sense his deep love for the Japanese brothers.

Progress in Quantity and Quality

The publishers continued to increase; so did the demand for literature. Even before the dedication of the facilities at Ebina, in October 1979 the branch took possession of its first web offset press. This press weighed 75 tons, was 64 feet [20 m] long, and could produce 300 magazines per minute, in full color. Did that care for our needs?

“In 1981,” recalls Brother Mantz, “we had a zone visit by Brother Jaracz. He noticed that we were running a double shift on our press and recommended that we ask for approval to purchase a second one. We were hesitant to request a second press because we felt that it was more economical to get by with one. However, within a month we received instructions from Brooklyn to order our second rotary offset press. At the time, we did not realize what was in store for us. But when it was delivered in May one year later, we immediately had to start production of the complete New World Translation in Japanese for release at the district conventions just two months away. At those conventions the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth was also to be released. So again we could see Jehovah’s hand directing matters. We could never have produced our magazines, the Bible, and the book all on the one press.”

 A third press, a high-powered Mitsubishi, was installed in 1984. It had two webs and four color units in addition to an extra black unit; it was capable of producing 1,000 magazines a minute. At the time, it was the fastest press in the country and became the talk of secular printers. Ichiki Matsunaga, who was given special training to run the press, was thrilled to see it running at its maximum speed. “But,” he said, “it is even more thrilling to contemplate the tremendous speed at which the printed message will be going out.”

How could 60,000 magazines an hour be handled efficiently? Eventually, the brothers in the machine shop designed and built an electric conveyor system that transported the magazines from the press through a hydraulic pressing unit and a three-knife trimmer to the packing station. The operation overseer explains: “The press is fed a half-ton paper roll every 20 minutes, and at the other end of the line, the magazines are packed directly into labeled cartons, ready to be shipped.” Within five minutes the paper goes from the roll through the press, the trimmer, and into the carton. This in-line system reduces the need for a number of workers and much storage space.

The high-quality printing made possible by this equipment, together with improvements in the artwork and paper quality, greatly enhanced the appeal of the magazines. The publishers enthusiastically offered them in the field ministry.

“Specialists in Array”

In keeping with the move to offset printing, the Society began to computerize its prepress operations. Were there Japanese Witnesses with sufficient technical background who could make themselves available to undertake this change? Yes! Yasuo Ishii, one of the technical pioneers in the field of computer science in Japan, had become a dedicated servant of  Jehovah. He had also shared his faith with his colleagues. As a result, six persons who were systems engineers and expert programmers had become baptized Witnesses. This entire group accepted the invitation to share in the Society’s project, some as Bethelites and others as commuters. Recalling what had occurred, Toshio Honma, the Branch Committee coordinator at the time, said: “Jehovah had specialists in array for the very moment they were needed.”

As to the computer to be used, the Brooklyn office had recommended leasing IBM’s yet-to-be-released mainframe model 4341. The Japan branch of the Society was second in line, by lot, to receive one of these latest mainframe computers. However, the agent for the company in Japan felt that it would be better to give it to one of their regular customers who had the resources to do the programming. The five brothers and one sister working on our project quickly drew up the specifications for the Society’s unique needs. After seeing these detailed specifications, the company readily included our order in its first shipment of this new model.

Under the skillful direction of these specialists, more than 40 willing young brothers and sisters received training to be programmers. The goal was to build a fully automated system for typesetting and composition for the Society’s Japanese publications. The system came to be called SCRIPT (System of Character Reproduction Incorporating Photo-Typesetting). In less than two years, it was ready for a test. The first publication produced by the system was the 192-page book “Let Your Kingdom Come.”

By 1987 the capacity of secular personal computers had advanced to the point where they could accommodate the needs peculiar to the Japanese script. So when the phototypesetter linked with the SCRIPT system broke down, a switch to the Society’s less expensive typesetting system was made. The  specialized features that our brothers had developed for the SCRIPT system, incorporating a Japanese “alphabet” of some 8,000 complicated Japanese characters, were then integrated into the MEPS system. A number of programmers who worked on the local Japanese system now work in other countries to support the Society’s worldwide publishing system.

A New Department Begins

For close to 30 years, the Society’s printery in Brooklyn had been supplying Japan with the books it needed for distribution in the field. But as work got under way on construction of the new factory at Ebina in 1978, the decision was made to have the Japan branch begin producing its own books.

Learning what we were planning to do, the president of a large adhesives company visited us. When he found out that we intended to make our own adhesives, he offered to get the raw materials and the equipment we would need. Or if we chose, he would be glad to prepare the glue for us at his cost. Why? A few years earlier, he had attended a bindery- and printing-machine exhibition in Chicago, U.S.A. There he and his group met brothers from Brooklyn Bethel, who invited them to tour the Watchtower Society’s printery in New York. The entire operation, especially the kindness and hard work of the brothers, impressed the group very much. Now he wanted to help us in any way he could. It turned out to be cheaper to get our adhesives from him than to make our own. Through his introduction, we were also able to contact other materials suppliers, and this has resulted in substantial savings.

Many machine manufacturers cooperated in a similar way. When representatives of a manufacturer of trimmers and gatherers came to Ebina to draw up a contract, they were deeply impressed by all they saw at the construction site,  especially by the hardworking volunteers. As a result, they offered to reduce the price of their machines by 1,000,000 yen ($10,000 U.S.).

Who Could Train the Brothers?

There was no one in the factory with any practical experience in bookbinding. Robert Pobuda had been invited to Brooklyn to receive some six weeks of training and to get information for training the brothers in Japan. The material was translated, and a bindery school was held. This was supplemented with the help of professionals from commercial companies who came and instructed the brothers in the use of bookbinding materials. We also arranged to tour some commercial binderies to observe their operations.

Once, after having toured such a bindery, the brothers were invited into the president’s office. “Do you know why I let you people come?” he asked. “Normally we never allow outside bindery people to see our factory, but a week before you requested permission for a tour, a Witness called at my door and offered the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. I was impressed with her manners and by what I read in the magazines.” He accepted more literature, including subscriptions  for The Watchtower and Awake!, and offered to help train a number of the brothers for a month in his factory.

Over the years since then, those in the bindery have continued to improve their skills and deepen their knowledge. Commercial bookbinding companies have even sent their workers to tour our factory. They never fail to be impressed by the cleanliness and attention to detail that they observe. James Mantz, a former overseer of the factory, recalls: “We had one bindery company that was given permission to make a video as its representatives went around the regular tour route. They planned to use the video to train their own factory personnel. They had the same equipment and were doing similar work, but they wanted to use Bethelites as the models because of their attitude, evident in their happy faces while they were working, and because they were doing the work very efficiently.” Brother Mantz also remembers the amazement of a business executive who toured the Society’s bindery. The executive said: “Japanese young people suffer from what they call the three ‘K’ syndrome—kiken, kitanai, and kitsui.” That means dangerous, dirty, and demanding. If work involves any of these, most young people are not interested. But that is not so in the Ebina factory.

Particular interest has been shown in our deluxe bindery. The bindery at our Ebina facilities has become one of the prime sources of information regarding deluxe binding in Japan. In this bindery, leather-covered Bibles are mass-produced.

Producing the Complete New World Translation

The change to offset printing, the establishment of the bindery, and the development of the SCRIPT system all laid a foundation for producing the complete New World Translation.

 Permission to proceed with translating the Hebrew Scripture portion of the New World Translation had come in 1975. This was to be a team effort. Three translators were designated to share in the project. What could be done to maintain a high level of uniformity among the various workers? Extensive and detailed lists of renderings, together with information on proper names, animals, plants, minerals, colors, diseases, and items such as tools, clothing, foods, and sacrificial offerings were made and shared among the translators. Hundreds of synonymous word groups and important phrases also had to be carefully studied and added to the lists. Later, the Japanese Bible translators were among those invited to share their experience with those who were designing a Bible translation support system at headquarters. Their suggestions were among those that are now being employed by Bible translators around the world.

The complete New World Translation in Japanese was both printed and bound in our facilities at Ebina. In order to produce the 136,000 Bibles needed for release at the 17 “Kingdom Truth” District Conventions in 1982, the Graphics Department, the pressroom, and the bindery operated 24 hours a day. Some of the brothers worked 12- to 16-hour shifts. They were spurred on by keeping in mind that they were carrying forward the sort of work that Ezra, ‘a skilled copyist of the law of God,’ had done in ancient times. But while Ezra had done his work by hand, they were using a high-speed web offset press to accomplish it in Japanese. As a reminder to imitate that skilled copyist, they posted the words of Ezra 7:6 on the side of the press.

That year all the bindery brothers attended the final convention in Fukushima. They completed the last Bible needed for the release just eight minutes before the end of the last workday before the convention. Shigeru Yoshioka, who was in the bindery then, recalls: “We were exhausted, but when we  saw the tears of joy on the faces of the brothers receiving the long-awaited complete New World Translation, we all felt that it was well worth the effort.”

With the Japanese translation of the Bible in computerized form, it was not difficult to produce a variety of different-sized editions. Over the years since its completion in 1982, close to 3,000,000 copies of the Japanese New World Translation in various editions have been produced.

Further Additions to Accommodate Growth

Just like a fast-growing adolescent, the theocratic organization in Japan quickly outgrew its branch facilities. In February 1984 further expansion was announced, this time including a six-story factory extension and an eight-story residence building, both with basements. The new factory was to have floor space of almost 243,000 square feet [22,500 sq m], twice that of the original Ebina factory. The new residence building would have 128 rooms to accommodate Bethel volunteers.

The construction work on the addition began in September 1984 and was completed in February 1988. During this period the number of publishers in Japan passed the 100,000 mark, and it has continued to grow. This project would equip the branch not only to serve the growing needs of the Japanese field but also to assist with printing needs for other countries. On May 13, 1989, the new buildings were dedicated to Jehovah, the One who had brought in the increase that made the facilities necessary.

Placing Care of One’s Family Ahead of Other Interests

The nation’s media have at times turned the spotlight on Jehovah’s Witnesses. A media campaign in 1986 awakened an awareness of how much Jehovah’s Witnesses care for their children. A headline in the Mainichi Daily News read: “Top  JNR Exec Quits to Be With Family.” In Japan, a father with teenage children faces a dilemma when he gets a job transfer, even if it means a promotion. Transfers are made regardless of the family situation. When their children are in high school, parents often shy away from the thought of leaving their hometown as a family. A father will usually accept the transfer and leave his family behind. In Japanese, this is called tanshinfunin. The newspaper article reported that Takeshi Tamura, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, had been appointed director general of the Kyushu Bureau of the Japanese National Railways (JNR). However, he chose to resign rather than take this prestigious position and leave his family behind. “The job of the director general can be taken by anybody. But I am the only father of my children,” said Brother Tamura, as quoted in one of the newspapers.

People were puzzled. Earlier the media had painted a cruel picture of Jehovah’s Witnesses, depicting them as people who are willing to let their children die. And yet, here was a man who because of wanting to be with his family was courageous enough to resign from a position that most JNR men would give their eyeteeth to have. Television reporters went from house to house. They interviewed tanshinfunin businessmen as they got off the train to spend the weekend with their families. The reporters asked people how they felt about Brother Tamura’s decision. A common reaction was: ‘I admire his decision. I wish I had the nerve to do the same.’

Recalling what happened, Brother Tamura says: “I don’t know how the Mainichi newspaper got the information. Usually, when such information is leaked, JNR will intentionally change the whole personnel scheme just to prove that what was reported was not true. However, this time it went through just as it was announced by the media. Jehovah must have been behind it all. Through the media, the Japanese  got the message that Jehovah’s Witnesses are people who care about their family.” Today, Brother Tamura and his family all serve as full-time evangelizers. He is the presiding overseer in his congregation, and his son is a temporary Bethel volunteer.

Progress in Okinawa

After Okinawa was integrated under the Japan branch, further good progress was made in that territory, where old traditions still have a strong influence on the lives of the people. Age did not hold back 70-year-old Kiku Sunagawa from taking up the pioneer work. For many years she had been in bondage to the local yuta, or spirit medium. But she was deeply moved when she learned from the Scriptures that the true God has a name and that he can read the heart. She immediately destroyed everything she had that was connected with the yuta. Then she determined to learn how to read so that she could gain a fuller knowledge of God’s will. Her study conductor patiently gave her the help needed. She got baptized in 1981, and the following year she enrolled as a pioneer.

Although she was formerly illiterate, she was now able to teach an elderly Bible student’s husband to read and write so that he and his wife could progress together toward baptism. The appreciative couple gave the Akamichi Congregation a suitable piece of land on which to build a fine new Kingdom Hall. Kiku’s efforts were further blessed when her two younger sisters also broke free from the influence of the yuta in order to serve the true God, Jehovah.

In 1989 an elderly couple in Hamamatsu accepted an assignment to witness on the small island of Aguni Jima, some 40 miles [60 km] off the coast of Okinawa. They sold their wedding rings to scrape up the funds needed for traveling to this  remote island. Twenty days were devoted to visiting the 600 houses on the island. One day when they were walking along a stone hedge under the scorching summer sun, two little girls offered them a drink of water from their canteen. Moved by the kindness of the girls, the couple decided to visit the parents of the children. When they introduced themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses, the parents warmly embraced them. These people had not seen any of Jehovah’s Witnesses since they moved from Okinawa eight months earlier. A Bible study by mail was arranged, and later the study was turned over to a congregation in Naha, Okinawa. The parents together with their eldest daughter were baptized in 1993. They are helping many people on that isolated island to learn the truth.

In 1980, when Okinawa came back under the Japan branch, the number of publishers on Okinawa and neighboring islands was 958 in 22 congregations. Now there are upwards of 2,600 Kingdom proclaimers actively serving in the Okinawa Prefecture.

Regional Building Committees Help

For several decades congregations had built their Kingdom Halls with what experience and resources were available locally, but there were structural, legal, and other problems. Most congregations did not pay much attention to color coordination. Unskilled volunteers made up the major part of the work force, and it took a long time to complete projects. The months, even years, required by some building projects endangered the spirituality of the congregation and especially of the ones who were involved in the construction. The time was ripe to consider the possibility of applying the principles of quick construction that were being employed in the United States.

 The first Regional Building Committee was formed in the Tokyo area in September 1990. Seven others were subsequently established to cover other parts of the country. In March 1991 the first Kingdom Hall in Japan on which quick-construction methods were used went up in Nakaminato, Ibaraki Prefecture. Although a violent windstorm on the second day caused a temporary delay, the 120-seat hall was completed in just four days.

Since then, the original 8 Regional Building Committees throughout Japan have been increased to 11, assisting in the construction of from 80 to 100 Kingdom Halls each year. This includes double Kingdom Hall structures and halls having the ground level as a car-parking area because of the high price of land. In Okinawa the Regional Building Committee had to modify the plans in order to deal with typhoons that frequently hit the islands.

The day before the quick-construction project for the Kochinda Congregation in Okinawa was due to begin, the brother who had donated the land passed away. His funeral was planned for 4:00 p.m. on the following Sunday—in the not-as-yet-built Kingdom Hall. The brother was well-known locally, so his funeral was announced through the media. Seeing only the concrete foundation on the construction site, people asked: “Are you really going to put up a building in time for the funeral?” Yes, the hall was completed in time, and many people, including some from legal and political circles, assembled there to listen to the memorial talk.

At the present time, there are 1,796 Kingdom Halls throughout Japan and Okinawa, and 511 of these have been built or refurbished by the quick-construction method. These halls are eloquent testimony to the presence of Jehovah’s Witnesses and bring appropriate praise to the God they worship.

 Assembly Halls Throughout the Country

The same can be said about the Assembly Halls, where circuit assemblies and special assembly day programs are held. Starting in the 1980’s, Assembly Halls were built one after another—in Kansai, Ebina, Chiba, Tokai, Hyogo, Gumma, Hokkaido, and Tochigi. A ninth Assembly Hall, built in Kyushu, was completed in 1997.

The exemplary conduct of hardworking brothers often served to change the hearts of neighbors who were at first not favorably disposed. When the Tokai Assembly Hall was being  built near Nagoya, a neighbor strongly opposed the project and tried to organize a campaign to stop it. He came to the site every day to check what was going on. One day, he came with a saw in his hand. When the brother in charge of the project asked him what he intended to do, he said: “I’ve been watching what you’ve been doing until now. And it looks like the bamboo grove is blocking your way. Let me share in volunteer service today.” He pitched in to help.

In 1995, when the brothers were building the Hokkaido Assembly Hall on the northernmost island, funds were quite limited. So they were delighted to obtain 2,000 seats free of charge. How did that come about? During the construction, a massive earthquake hit Kobe and its neighboring cities, rendering many buildings useless. The Kobe Kokusai Kaikan, which included a beautiful concert hall, was one of these. After the decision to demolish the building was made, a television news report showed musicians bidding farewell to the hall. Seeing the newscast, Witnesses doing relief work in Kobe contacted the ones in charge of the building and obtained permission to remove the seats and ship them to the Hokkaido Assembly Hall. A third of the 2,000 seats were brand new, and the rest would be usable after being reupholstered. The company that demolished the concert hall was happy that the seats were out of the way.

Beginning with the Tochigi and Hokkaido Assembly Halls in 1995, brothers and sisters who qualified to serve under the Regional Building Committees for Kingdom Hall construction became involved in the building of Assembly Halls too. The brothers highly prize their Assembly Halls and the opportunity to associate together during their assemblies. They discern in these fine buildings yet another evidence of Jehovah’s rich blessing on their efforts to render a worthy sacrifice of praise.

 Suitable Convention Sites

During the 1980’s most of the large district conventions were held in open-air stadiums. This involved coping with extreme summer heat and humidity as well as typhoons, which begin to pummel Japan about the time of the summer conventions.

In 1983 a district convention for over 20,000 was scheduled for August 18 to 21 at the Greenery Squares in the Expo Memorial Park in Osaka. In preparation, volunteers erected two huge tents on Sunday, August 14. However, a typhoon with a wind speed of 100 miles per hour [160 km/hr] was heading directly toward Osaka. The brothers decided to dismantle the tents in order to avoid danger. “The convention headquarters looked like a weather station as the brothers carefully watched the typhoon’s progress,” says Shogo Nakagawa, the convention overseer.

“The 16th became a day for prayer. If the convention was to open on time, the brothers must start erecting the tents by 5:00 a.m., August 17. The newspaper for the evening of August 16 read: ‘Rainstorm Expected in the Osaka Area.’ If we were to erect tents on schedule, the typhoon had to move faster and take a right turn, and the western clouds must clear away. That was exactly what happened. At 4:00 a.m. on the 17th, it was raining heavily in the southern part of Osaka but not around the convention site. The tents were reerected in time for the convention, which started at 1:20 p.m. on Thursday the 18th, just as scheduled.”

Gradually, however, indoor arenas and halls with capacities of over 10,000 became available. In the 1990’s, Jehovah’s Witnesses began to rent these air-conditioned halls. One of the largest of these indoor gatherings was held in the Tokyo Dome Stadium in 1992. Altogether, 39,905 people attended this “Light Bearers” District Convention. As the stadium was  in the center of Tokyo, the convention was a good witness to onlookers. A man working near the stadium admitted to a pioneer who visited his home that he and his workmates had been critical of the Witnesses. But after watching the convention delegates, he apologized and said: “Now that my views have changed, I’ll read those magazines with my wife.”

Evacuees Welcomed

In the 1980’s the brothers’ ability to fill another need was put to the test. Just as Christians in the first century had opportunities to show the depth of their love by providing assistance to needy fellow believers in Judea, so too Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan in recent years have had opportunities to display these Christian qualities in times of disaster. (Acts 11:28, 29; Rom. 15:26) The way they have done it has given further evidence of the fulfillment of Jesus’ words: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”—John 13:35.

The first example of extensive relief activities occurred after Mount Mihara, on the island of Izu Oshima, erupted on November 21, 1986. At 4:17 p.m., Jiro Nishimura, an elder in the only congregation on the island, felt a great explosion. “When I went outside,” said Brother Nishimura, “there was a mushroom cloud above Mount Mihara just like that of an atom-bomb explosion.” Within an hour, 80 earthquakes rocked the island. Overnight more than 10,000 people were evacuated from the island.

Within a few hours after the eruption, relief committees were designated on the Izu Peninsula and in Tokyo to look after the evacuated Witnesses. Following the evacuation order, Yoshio Nakamura joined with others from congregations in Tokyo to rush to the piers at two o’clock in the morning to assist members of the Izu Oshima Congregation. One of the  evacuees later said: “As we got off the ship, we spotted a sign saying, ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses.’ . . . Tears welled up in my wife’s eyes, as she was overcome by relief at finding our brothers there to meet us at the pier.”

Shimabara Eruption

Less than five years later, in June 1991, Mount Fugen, on Shimabara Peninsula near Nagasaki, erupted. More than 40 people were killed. One Witness and her children whose house was in the path of a stream of superheated gas and ash escaped by the skin of their teeth. Of the 42 publishers associated with the Shimabara Congregation, 30 had to evacuate. The congregation could no longer use their Kingdom Hall, since it stood within the danger zone. Congregations throughout the country were informed of the needs of their brothers in the stricken area, and a bank account for relief funds was opened. The response was immediate; it was so great that the local bank was overwhelmed. They asked that the remittances be temporarily suspended while they tried to get caught up with processing them. In less than a month, the local Relief Committee asked that the congregations stop sending money, as they had already received more than they needed. In addition to caring for those who lost their jobs and their living quarters, the donations that were sent made it possible to provide a fine new Kingdom Hall for the Shimabara Congregation and one for the newly formed Arie Congregation, with which half of the refugees now associated.

The relief activities, along with the loving concern expressed in the more than 3,000 letters received, deeply moved the hearts of Witnesses in the disaster area. As a result, in April of the year following the disaster, the 28 publishers of the Shimabara Congregation as well as the 20 baptized members of the Arie Congregation all enrolled in the auxiliary  pioneer service for the month. It was a token of their gratitude to Jehovah.

Legal Assistance Needed

Satan, of course, has not been pleased with the united activity of Jehovah’s servants. As in other countries, he has tried to throw up barriers to impede the forward movement of Jehovah’s people. This has made it necessary at times to take matters to the courts.—Compare Acts 25:11.

In order to handle the situations requiring legal counsel, a legal desk was established at the branch office in the early part of the 1980’s. In 1991 a young attorney, along with his wife, volunteered to serve full-time at the branch. After consulting with other brothers in the legal profession, he prepared much helpful information for the bodies of elders on such matters as the renting and owning of Kingdom Halls, the proper handling of violence against Jehovah’s people, and wise steps to take in divorce and child-custody conflicts. In addition, the branch was provided with counsel needed to deal with changes in laws involving publishing, exporting of Bible literature, and similar matters.

Religious Conscience Brought to Court

A noteworthy case brought before the courts involved 16-year-old Kunihito Kobayashi, enrolled in the Kobe Municipal Industrial Technical College. (In Japan, technical colleges offer a five-year noncompulsory course that includes the three years of high school.) Certain schools had made it a practice to fail or expel students who did not take part in martial-arts drills. They were thus denied the right to an education. At the time of Lloyd Barry’s zone visit to the branch in December 1986, it was recommended that an exemplary brother who was facing this problem, preferably the son of an  elder, be selected and that a petition against his expulsion be filed in the courts.

In 1990, Kunihito Kobayashi together with four other students had refused kendo (Japanese swordsmanship) drills in keeping with the injunction of Isaiah 2:4 to ‘beat swords into plowshares and not learn war anymore.’ As a result, they were denied promotion to the next grade. Kunihito, although being at the very top of his class scholastically, was subsequently expelled from the school for failing the physical education class two years in a row. Kunihito and four others filed a petition against the school’s actions, claiming that their constitutional rights to freedom of worship and to an education had been infringed upon. After various appeals, it was the case of Kunihito that finally reached the Supreme Court. On March 8, 1996, the judges of the Second Petit Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in his favor, declaring that the college had erred by forcing him to choose between his religion and an education. This was the first time that the court had ruled on a case in which freedom of religion was weighed against the authority of a school over its curriculum. The new principal called together the entire student body, admitted the school’s lack of good judgment in the case, and asked them to “warmly welcome Mr. Kobayashi back as a fellow student.” In April 1996, four years after being expelled, Brother Kobayashi, now 21 years old, started back to school.

The decision was extensively reported on throughout the country, and Jehovah’s Witnesses rejoiced that Jehovah’s name and righteous ways were again brought to the public’s attention and that a favorable witness was given.—Matt. 10:18.

Showing Respect for God’s Law on Blood

Although the concern shown by Jehovah’s Witnesses for the lives of their fellowmen is well-known, it has been necessary  to put forth strenuous effort to overcome deep-seated prejudices against the Witnesses’ respect for the sanctity of blood. (Gen. 9:4; Acts 15:28, 29) Prior to the 1980’s, the branch office kept a list of hospitals and doctors that had performed bloodless surgery. But this was not a list of cooperative doctors; some had only reluctantly performed nonblood operations.

Could more be done to help Witnesses who needed the names of doctors who were willing to perform bloodless surgery? Akihiro Uotani, who became directly involved in filling this need, recalls: “We were frustrated, as we often did not know what to do with the desperate calls to the Society seeking the names of doctors who were willing to operate without blood.” Then, in the early part of 1989, rumors reached Japan to the effect that Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) seminars were being held in the United States. Interested, the branch wrote a letter of inquiry to Brooklyn headquarters. Later, in November that year, a letter was received from Hospital Information Services in Brooklyn informing the branch that the Publishing Committee had given approval to hold an HLC seminar in Japan in March 1990. It would be one of the first to be held outside the United States.

 In addition to the 91 newly appointed HLC members, 111 traveling overseers, 25 Witness doctors from Japan, 44 brothers from the Republic of Korea, and 3 instructors from Brooklyn would be present. The seminar was to be conducted in English and translated into Korean and Japanese.

“During the seminar, the instructors repeatedly emphasized the need to ‘educate the doctors,’” recalls Brother Uotani. “Some expressed serious doubts about whether interviewing the doctors and visiting the hospitals with a view to educating the doctors would be accepted in Japan. This was especially so since the Japanese traditionally accepted without question whatever treatment the doctors administered, and the doctors were not inclined to discuss with laypersons what they were doing. However, after the seminar the three instructors formed teams with Liaison Committee members and visited hospitals in the Tokyo area, with very fine results.”

Educating the Media and the Doctors

Because of prejudiced reports and inaccurate information appearing in the press, it was felt that efforts should be made to educate the media as well as the doctors concerning our stand on blood. So, beginning in September 1990, after the release of the brochure How Can Blood Save Your Life?, the branch launched a campaign to meet reporters who were writing articles on medicine for national and local newspapers. It proved to be very successful. Some of the reporters, impressed by what they were shown, even offered to write an article about doctors who perform bloodless surgery.

Another fine result of this campaign was that science reporters for the leading national newspapers informed the Osaka HLC that the Ethics Committee of the National Center for Circulatory Disease was discussing how to deal with the Witnesses. Immediately, a letter was written in which request  was made for an interview with the director of the center. Both the director and the vice-chairman of the Ethics Committee attended this meeting. As a result, on April 22, 1991, the decision was made to respect the rights of the Witnesses to refuse blood transfusions.

Following this fine start, ethics committees at other hospitals were contacted with similar results. When the Ethics Committee for the Tokyo Metropolitan Hospitals and Maternities was preparing guidelines on how to deal with the refusal of blood transfusions on religious grounds, a representative of the Hospital Information Services from the branch and members of HLCs in Tokyo were invited to take part. The 13-member committee recommended that all the 16 hospitals run by the Tokyo metropolitan government respect the wishes of adult patients who desire bloodless management even if the doctors felt that blood was necessary. “In the case of a patient brought to the hospital unconscious but in possession of a document certifying that he or she does not wish to have a transfusion, the doctor must place priority on that wish,” reported Mainichi Shimbun. Further, it stated that “high-school children will have their wishes regarding transfusion respected as if they were adults.”

Even hospitals that had formally posted signs reading “No Jehovah’s Witnesses Accepted” have changed their attitude and are willing to treat Witnesses and to use bloodless methods in doing so. There are now more than 15,000 names on the list of cooperative doctors. Some doctors felt slighted if the local HLC overlooked them. In October 1995 the Shin-Tokyo Hospital in Matsudo started a bloodless management program, which totally respects the Witnesses’ stand on blood. So, fine forward steps have been taken on this vital matter.

 Love Coupled With Organization

As foretold by Jesus Christ, in these last days great earthquakes continue to strike in one place after another. (Matt. 24:3, 7) One of these struck the Kobe area on Tuesday, January 17, 1995. This earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, took over 5,000 lives and left thousands more homeless. Among the 9,000 Witnesses living in the affected area, 13 baptized Witnesses and 2 unbaptized publishers lost their lives. Hiroshi and Kazu Kaneko, a special pioneer couple serving in the Nishinomiya Central Congregation, were found under the rubble of an old apartment that morning. It took more than four hours to dig Brother Kaneko out, but his wife, Kazu, had been crushed to death. Because Hiroshi had been under the weight of the rubble for a long time, his kidneys stopped functioning, leaving him in critical condition for many days. “It hit me hard how useless material belongings  are,” Hiroshi said. “In contrast, I realized the importance of inner qualities such as faith and hope. Those qualities help us overcome the worst of conditions that we may face.”

Moved by intense love for their brothers, Witnesses quickly acted to provide help. Providentially, the circuits around Kobe had been organized to cut across the city from north to south. Since the quake hit the area along the coastline from east to west, each circuit had unaffected congregations that could assist those in need. Elders in the unaffected congregations nearby took the initiative in organizing the relief work. On the day after the first jolt, a convoy of 16 motorcycles delivered food and water to the congregations in downtown Kobe.

Circuit overseers at once set up temporary relief centers to care for Witnesses in the affected area. The branch designated six Kingdom Halls that were not destroyed as depots for relief supplies. “Within five hours, those halls were filled to capacity,” recalls Yoshihiro Nagasaki, a member of the Branch Committee who got into the affected area by riding on the back of a motorcycle belonging to a fellow Witness. “We had to ask the brothers to reroute the relief supplies to nearby Assembly Halls.” Supply centers were set up where representatives from the local congregations could pick up the needed items, and the elders in each congregation would then distribute the supplies to its members.

The Bible encourages Christians to “work what is good toward all, but especially toward those related to us in the faith.” (Gal. 6:10) The Witnesses gladly shared with their neighbors what they received. Two days after the Kobe earthquake, when a Witness elder realized that the relief supplies for the Witnesses were sufficient but that other people were  in desperate need, he quickly dispatched two vans full of food supplies to a local refugee center.

Further Assistance Extended

Attention was given also to emotional and spiritual needs. Arrangements were promptly made to continue the congregation meetings. One congregation met in a park on the very day of the earthquake. By the Sunday following the quake, most congregations in the area held their regular Watchtower Study. To care for the emotional and spiritual needs of those affected, seven circuit overseers were sent to the five affected circuits in addition to their regular circuit overseers. They made special visits to strengthen the brothers and to help them keep the Kingdom interests first in their lives in spite of the disaster.

Ten Kingdom Halls had been rendered unfit for use. The homes of many of the brothers had been totally or partially destroyed. The 11 Regional Building Committees in Japan each organized teams of about 21 workers to repair the damaged houses. A relief team of Witnesses from the United States came at their own expense to share in the work. Before these teams had finished their work, they had repaired 1,023 houses and cleared away 4 houses that had been destroyed. Five Kingdom Halls were rebuilt, and four were repaired by self-sacrificing brothers who came from all over the country.

Unbelieving family members were treated with the same kindness as was shown to the believing members of such households. A sister with an unbelieving husband and four children lost her second son in the earthquake. The family stayed in the Kingdom Hall with 70 other Witnesses for one week. Observing how the brothers showed concern and gave practical help, the husband began to appreciate Jehovah’s organization. One day he visited the relief headquarters in Suita.  There he saw many brothers working hard for the benefit of people they did not know. Emotion welled up inside him, and he could not hold back his tears. That very day, he agreed to a Bible study.

Coping Constructively With Changes

As the years have passed, the situation in Japan has changed. By the end of March 1992, forty-three years after the first missionary group arrived in 1949, the entire territory assigned to the Japan branch was receiving regular coverage with the good news of the Kingdom. However, the attitude and circumstances of the people have also changed, and this has required flexibility on the part of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Rodney Kealoha, a missionary who had been in the traveling work for many years, observed: “Twenty-five years ago [in the 1970’s], the Japanese people were very courteous and friendly. When the Witnesses called on them, even though they were not interested, they listened.” People took time to read and in general had a high respect for good morals and social order. However, they gradually became more distracted by growing material prosperity. Housewives began to join the work force. Fewer people could be found at home during the day. Those who were at home were often too busy for extended conversations about religion and were not willing to accept literature that they felt they had no time to read.

High-security apartment buildings and homes with intercoms were being built. Publishers in these areas had to adjust to giving their presentations over intercoms. They learned to call back on those who simply displayed kind and pleasant manners. Hiroko, a pioneer serving in Sapporo, was turned down over the intercom by a woman who said that she was Shinto. Convinced that the woman must have a good heart because of her cheerful voice and polite manner, Hiroko  called back. Gradually she developed a friendship over the intercom. After ten months of such calls, she was finally greeted with, “Wait a minute please,” and the woman appeared at the door and invited her into the house. A discussion on a family matter quickly led to a Bible study, and then to baptism. The new sister, now a pioneer, did have a good heart.

Since many people are seldom at home during the day, Our Kingdom Ministry recommended increased evening and street witnessing. The publishers immediately responded with enthusiasm. Soon, throughout Japan, they could be seen displaying The Watchtower and Awake! on the streets, especially around the busy train stations.

Typical was a sister near Yokohama. Even though she had a full-time job, she wanted to be an auxiliary pioneer. An elder suggested that each day before going to her secular job, she might do street witnessing near a train station from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. After overcoming her own timidity and the initial ridicule by some commuters, she developed a route of some 40 persons who were glad to receive the magazines. These included commuters, station workers, and nearby shop owners. Her average magazine placements were 235 a month in a territory where pioneers usually placed around 30. By sharing Scriptural points with people for just a few moments each day, she was able to start six different Bible studies—one with a policeman.

Other publishers applied the suggestions on telephone witnessing so as to reach people in high-security buildings. Persistence and featuring an appealing subject have opened the way for many Bible studies. When a sister who was using the telephone asked one woman whether she gave much thought to what the future held for her and her family, the woman said that she had. Disappointment in the ability of others to help had affected her health. As a result she had  isolated herself at home. Moved by the genuine concern expressed by the Witness, she agreed to meet her at a nearby supermarket. On being shown the contents of the Family Life book, she readily agreed to a Bible study.

Energetic field activity along with the maturing of the congregations has resulted in steady and sustained growth. The current string of successive peaks in publishers began in January 1979 and has continued unbroken for over 18 years. Through the latter half of the 1980’s and the early 1990’s, the publisher increase in Japan averaged more than 10,000 each year. By March 1995, there were 200,000 Kingdom proclaimers in the country. By August 1997, 220,663 publishers were associating with 3,785 congregations, compared with 14,199 publishers in 320 congregations in August 1972. An increasing number of these, however, are not publishers whose native language is Japanese.

Help for Foreign-Language Groups

As a result of a strong Japanese economy, many workers speaking languages other than Japanese have moved into the country. These include Jehovah’s Witnesses. Japan is no longer a land where the native tongue of nearly everyone is Japanese. How could the foreign-language populations be helped spiritually?

Prior to the 1980’s, there was a relatively small foreign-language population. Small isolated groups or congregations had been formed in Misawa, Tachikawa, and Okinawa for the benefit of the dependent wives and children of U.S. military personnel as well as other interested people.

The largest of these was for the American military bases in Okinawa. In 1968, Karl and Evalyn Emerson, formerly missionaries in Korea, moved with their young son to assist the English-speaking population on Okinawa. They were  later joined in this fruitful field by Bill and Mary Ives and Wayne and Penny Frazee from the 40th and 52nd classes of Gilead. Wayne, driving a tiny, dilapidated 360cc car around the sprawling Kadena Air Base, was particularly effective in working among the draftees because of his own military background. Together, Wayne and Penny were able to help about 100 persons to baptism during the 15 years they served in Okinawa. So effective was their ministry that the commanding officer of one base requested that they preach elsewhere. Why? “You are getting my best men,” he complained.

Though there was a constant shuffling of people in and out of the congregation, as assignments to other military bases were made, literally thousands of people have attended the meetings and hundreds have been helped to take their stand for Jehovah. The majority of these have continued to serve Jehovah upon returning to the United States. Some have become elders and ministerial servants. One of these, Nick Simonelli, later attended the 93rd class of Gilead, following in the footsteps of the one who studied with him. He is now serving in Ecuador with his wife.

English-Language Territory in Japan

Toward the close of the 1970’s, with the end of the Vietnam War, the English-language groups in Japan gradually flickered out. But early in the 1980’s, noting the number of English-speaking people around the U.S. Atsugi Naval Air Base, just a 15-minute drive from Bethel, James Mantz, Jr., invited his parents, who were then living in California, U.S.A., to step over into the Orient and help. (Compare Acts 16:9.) So in March 1981, at the ages of 62 and 59, James Mantz, Sr., and his wife, Ruth, moved to Sagamihara near the Atsugi base. “Our territory was anywhere we could find English-speaking people,” recalls Ruth. “While doing street  work, Ruth would often stop young American soldiers on bicycles with her hands spread out in order to show them the magazines,” recalls a member of the Ebina Bethel family. Sadly, James Mantz, Sr., passed away shortly after arriving in Japan, but Ruth stayed in the area and helped a number of people to come into the truth. The small Sagamihara English group became a congregation in October 1985.

As the Japanese economy grew stronger during the 1980’s, the number of aliens increased dramatically. Many thousands of Filipinos, South Americans, Africans, Chinese, and Koreans streamed into the country as guest workers. The Society took steps to extend spiritual help to these foreign workers. English-speaking Japanese pioneers, including many serving at Bethel, were assigned to give assistance. “When the Society started to take the lead in this,” said one brother who had been with the English congregation for many years, “the increase immediately came in.” By September 1, 1997, there were 18 English congregations, constituting a separate circuit.

Help for the Brazilians

Large numbers of Japanese whose parents or grandparents had emigrated to Brazil came back to Japan to work, but they understood neither Japanese nor English. In 1986, an ex-missionary couple, Kazuyuki and Nanako Kiritani, who had served in Brazil, moved to Yokohama, where a few Portuguese-speaking sisters and Bible students were located. This small group started to have a Watchtower Study along with an abbreviated Theocratic Ministry School once a month in Portuguese.

In the spring of 1991, the Society invited three Brazilian elders, who were living in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Toyohashi, as well as Brother Kiritani, to discuss the development of the  Portuguese field. In August 1991 four Portuguese groups began to operate. The branch had recruited willing Bethelites and started a Portuguese language class at Bethel. They eagerly learned the language and became a part of the foundation of the Portuguese groups. The newly formed groups soon became congregations, and within six years, there were 21 Portuguese-speaking congregations, these also forming their own circuit.

Spanish Field Opens

In September 1987, the first meeting was held in Spanish to help eight sisters who had been associating with the Portuguese group until that time. Louis Delgado, a single brother from Peru, took the lead. In those days some of the sisters traveled six hours to attend the Spanish meetings, but the spiritual help they received made it worthwhile. Because of the language barrier, some who had married Japanese citizens for financial security were experiencing marital difficulties and also had a hard time expressing their feelings to the elders in the Japanese congregations.

The field ministry for the Spanish group was also a challenge. In order to organize territories, they went to all the 29 stations of the Yamanote Line, the train line that loops central Tokyo, searching for Spanish names on the doors. Although  tiring and time-consuming, this activity provided well-defined territory for them to work.

During the day, groups of sisters would visit areas where many Colombian women lived. The women worked in bars that were usually operated by the yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. When a woman seemed to be making spiritual progress, the yakuza would intervene and transfer her to another location. One such Bible student, however, progressed to the point of realizing that she should change her job in order to be pleasing to Jehovah. This meant fleeing and hiding from the yakuza. With the help of her study conductor, she was eventually able to return to her own country.

Thus, at the beginning of the 1990’s, when a large number of workers flowed into Japan from Peru, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, and other countries, Jehovah had a small Spanish group prepared to look after their spiritual needs. In 1991 a Spanish class was started for Bethelites who were willing to help. Within one year some were delivering public talks. In 1993 the first Spanish congregation was formed in the Tokyo area. By 1997, there were 13 flourishing Spanish congregations. These make up a separate foreign-language circuit.

Helping Those From Asia

A significant number of Chinese were also streaming into Japan. Among them were thousands of students as well as descendants of Japanese children who had been left in China at the end of World War II. It was estimated that more than 300,000 Chinese were living in Japan, 200,000 of whom were in the greater Tokyo area. Lifting up their eyes and viewing the Chinese field, the brothers could see that it was white for harvesting, ‘but the workers were few.’—Matt. 9:37; John 4:35.

Masayuki Yamamoto and his wife, Masako, had spent eight years in missionary service in Taiwan. In 1992, Chinese  was taught to a number of Bethelites who were willing to help the Chinese-speaking population. Immediately, Masayuki contacted those who spoke some Chinese, and a Chinese group was started with 28 publishers. They were mostly Japanese pioneers who, though still struggling with their Chinese, were eager to help interested ones who spoke that language. Such zeal on the part of the Japanese Witnesses moved the hearts of the Chinese. One young woman received the book The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived from a brother who was studying at the same school she attended. She read the book in one week. This moved her to start attending all the meetings. She was amazed to see so many Japanese studying Chinese just so that they could share the good news with Chinese-speaking people. She and her younger brother progressed quickly, and within a year they were baptized. She was conducting her own Bible studies even before she was baptized.

In May 1993 the first Chinese circuit assembly was held. There were 399 in attendance and 8 were baptized. Soon there were five Mandarin Chinese congregations functioning, as well as a Chinese book study group in a Japanese congregation.

Other Language Groups

In the late 1980’s, Penn Pitorest and his wife, Phiksang, started to study the Bible. Both of them were refugees from Cambodia and had lost their parents in the massacre in their homeland. Progress was slow because there were practically no publications for study in Cambodian. But eventually they were baptized. Being concerned about the spiritual needs of fellow refugees from Cambodia, they endeavored to conduct Bible studies with them. Soon a small Cambodian group was formed. They received more help in 1994 when The Watchtower began to appear in Cambodian. Following  that, ten brothers from Bethel began to study the language and were assigned to attend the Cambodian meetings.

Although the largest foreign-language group in Japan is Korean, most of them understand Japanese, so for years there was no separate congregation for them. In time, however, it was pointed out that the Koreans living in Japan could grasp the truth quicker if they studied it in their native tongue. This led to the formation of a Korean group near Bethel in April 1996 and, later, a group in Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture.

Not to be overlooked are the sign-language congregations. Many willing volunteers have learned Japanese sign language in order to help hearing-impaired people throughout the country. Since 1982 the Society has organized sign-language interpretation at certain district conventions. However, concerted efforts to help the hearing-impaired began in 1992, when sign-language congregations were formed in the cities of Fukuoka and Kumamoto. Sign-language videos have also been prepared. Now there are 11 congregations and 9 smaller groups throughout Japan that are actively helping hearing-impaired people.

Thus Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan have made a fine effort to reach out and assist the many language groups in the country to benefit from the good news in the language they understand best.

Enthusiasm for New School

In 1993 an exciting new opportunity opened to single elders and ministerial servants in Japan. It afforded opportunity for them to expand their service both within the country and abroad. James Hinderer and David Biegler, two brothers with decades of experience in the traveling work, were sent from the United States to conduct the first class of the Ministerial Training School in Japan. There were also present for  this first class, conducted in English, seven observers from Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Philippines. These observers were being prepared to serve as instructors in their respective countries.

In talking about how they benefited from the school, one of the students in the first class said: “Many of us, I think, had difficulty reasoning for ourselves and making decisions by applying pertinent Bible principles. We were more comfortable with rules. But during the school, by two frequently used questions, ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ we were trained to mull over the reasons behind the facts and the answers.” Echoing the same point, another student in the class recalls what occurred when one of the instructors suggested that the ministerial servant who cares for the magazines could prepare a magazine presentation for use in offering the newly arrived magazines and then share this with the publishers. A question about this by one of the students prompted an impressive clarification of the difference between righteousness and goodness. The instructor explained: “Righteousness fulfills the written instructions, but goodness goes beyond what is required in order to benefit others. We need to be not only righteous but also good and do whatever we can to benefit the congregation members, without a written code.”

The young single brothers in Japan are generally not in a hurry to get married. Those in the first 18 classes averaged 29 years of age, 13 years in the truth, and 8 years in the full-time service. By August 1997, more than 790 students had graduated from 33 Ministerial Training School classes, with thousands more waiting to attend. Upon graduation, some received assignments in the circuit, special pioneer, and missionary work.—Ps. 110:3.

The benefits are immediately felt when these well-trained elders and ministerial servants work with the congregations.  One elder, commenting on the good influence a graduate had on their congregation, said: “The congregation has become much livelier and brighter. The pioneer spirit increased, and all the congregation members gained a deepened appreciation for the importance of doing things according to the theocratic procedure. The enthusiasm of the youths for spiritual matters was heightened, and many joined the Theocratic Ministry School.” Thus, the congregations have been strengthened and built up.

Sending Delegates to Overseas Conventions

There have been many opportunities over the years for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan to “widen out” in expressing love for the international brotherhood. (2 Cor. 6:13) As travel abroad became more affordable, the Society invited the Japan branch to send delegates to special international conventions held in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, Hawaii, and New Zealand.

The number of delegates responding to the invitations increased over the years, and it was not unusual to find large numbers of pioneers and other full-time ministers among the delegates. In 1996, when special conventions were held in the Czech Republic and in Hungary, there were 1,114 full-time ministers among the 1,320 delegates from Japan.

What the Japanese delegates saw and heard at these special conventions broadened their viewpoint and gave them further impetus to serve Jehovah wholeheartedly. Shigeo Ikehata, who visited the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Taiwan for the 1978 international conventions, explains: “I was deeply impressed by the bond of love that existed among brothers and sisters in the foreign countries. Seeing firsthand that Jehovah’s Witnesses are bound together by the pure language has especially influenced my  appreciation for my service privileges and the content of my prayers.”

By visiting countries where Jehovah’s servants had withstood severe persecution and by hearing their experiences firsthand, the delegates were moved to want to imitate their faith. Misako Oda attended the first international convention in the former Soviet Union, in St. Petersburg, in 1992. She recalls: “When the opening song started on the first day  of the convention, a Russian sister sitting next to me began to weep. Looking up I could see many other Russian sisters with tears in their eyes, not able to finish the song. I thanked Jehovah deeply for his undeserved kindness in allowing me, someone who has not experienced the sort of persecution that they had undergone, to be there with them and to share that historic moment of victory for Jehovah and for the faithful brothers.”

A young pioneer sister, Seiko Namba (now Nakajima), recalls well the Buenos Aires convention in 1990. She says: “I learned from the brothers and sisters in Argentina how to express love and appreciation as well as the importance of showing such emotions to others. One elderly sister hugged me when we were leaving and gave me a present. She was in tears, saying, ‘Hasta luego en el Paraíso’ [See you in Paradise] time and time again. After I came back to Japan, I tried to express the same love and kindness to the people in my congregation and territory.” Others of the Japanese delegates, though generally more shy and reticent, were also helped by association with their Latin-American counterparts to be more outgoing in expressing their love.

Over the years, the Japan branch has had the privilege of sending thousands of delegates to special conventions held in other lands. The overwhelming response when invitations are sent out to the congregations indicates the high level of enthusiasm and appreciation that the brothers have for this opportunity to be with their international Christian family.

Contributing to the Worldwide Need

It is a great privilege to be able to contribute now in various ways to the worldwide brotherhood. Having gained valuable printing experience, the Japan branch is able to assist  neighboring branches with their printing needs. More than 9,000,000 copies of The Watchtower and Awake! are now produced each month at the Ebina factory in ten languages.

The Japan branch is now printing books, Bibles, booklets, and brochures in 26 languages, including Chinese, Laotian, Sinhalese, Tamil (for Sri Lanka), Thai, and 11 Philippine languages—all in full color. The high-speed offset rotary presses enable the factory to respond quickly to the needs in the field. In September 1993, for example, materials were sent to Japan for printing a special edition of the long-awaited Tagalog Bible that included the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. By the middle of October, 70,000 Tagalog Bibles had been printed and shipped, just in time to be released to the brothers at their district conventions in December. The Bibles in Cebuano and Iloko followed soon thereafter. Deluxe binding of the Portuguese and Spanish Bibles is also now handled in the printery in Ebina.

 After the Translation Services department was established at the world headquarters in 1989, the Japan branch was invited to share in rendering assistance to translators throughout Asia and the Pacific regions. More than half of the world’s population lives here, but many of the people, speaking scores of languages, do not yet have Watch Tower publications available to them. Japanese brothers who have translation skills and who are familiar with computer equipment have been privileged to visit India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Lebanon, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Solomon Islands, Guam, and other lands, to help find, train, and organize teams of translators as well as to install software developed by the Society to assist translators.

Mutual Encouragement

Not to be overlooked, too, are the 76 Japanese brothers and sisters who, in imitation of the missionaries serving in Japan, have eagerly accepted assignments to advance Kingdom interests in nine countries abroad. Included in this group are 13 graduates from the Ministerial Training School. The countries to which they have been assigned include Brazil (7), Cambodia (1), Guam (2), Malaysia (2), Nigeria (1), Papua New Guinea (11), Paraguay (8), Solomon Islands (5), and Taiwan (39). Letters received from those in their assignments indicate that they have successfully learned to cope with new languages, customs, and foods, and with tropical diseases, and they have also been willing to serve in primitive areas, at times without running water, gas, or electricity, in contrast to the affluence of modern-day Japan. They have developed a love for the local people and have learned godly contentment. They are delighted to be able to advance Kingdom interests in this way.

When theocratic expansion in Japan again made it necessary to enlarge the branch facilities, the work got under  way with international cooperation. The project includes 13-story twin residential towers and a 5-story services building. In 1994, Frank Lee, from the United States, was assigned to serve as construction overseer. Steve Givins, an international servant from the United States, also serves on the construction committee. More than 49 volunteers have come from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, England, Finland, France, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, and the United States to share in the work. These have all gladly sacrificed a more settled life in their home countries in order to share their experience and skills with their brothers abroad and to further Kingdom interests.

Outstanding too has been the overwhelming response by the Japanese brothers, as over 4,600 skilled and unskilled workers have submitted applications to work on the project. Most of them have to make big adjustments in order to work on the project even for a short period of time. It involves leaving jobs and families. But they feel richly rewarded for their efforts.

Older but Still Zealous

The growth of this great crowd of praisers of Jehovah in Japan started with the arrival of missionaries from the 11th class of Gilead in 1949 and 1950. Others joined them, including some from the 7th class and more from later classes. Fifty-nine of them are still in full-time service in Japan. Some of them are now in their 70’s and 80’s, and they are all still zealous in the service. Lois Dyer, after 64 years of determined full-time service, said: “I continuously pray with confidence as David so eloquently did, ‘Just when my power is failing, . . . even until old age and gray-headedness, O God, do not leave me.’” (Ps. 71:9, 18) Jehovah has not abandoned these loyal ones who have spent the greater part of their life in faithful Kingdom service. One member of the missionary  family put it this way: “Jehovah’s organization is like a mother who wraps us in a warm blanket and holds us close.”

Twenty-one of these longtimers are now in the Tokyo Mita missionary home. The original building in Tokyo that housed the branch has been completely renovated to accommodate these missionaries of advanced years. It is an exceptional missionary family! They average 74 years of age and 50 years in the truth. Eight of them are from Gilead’s 11th class. Together, the missionary family has given a heap of witness through the years, helping some 567 persons to learn the truth. Even though several members of the family are well into their 80’s and are experiencing serious health problems, they are by no means idle. During the 1997 service year, they averaged over 40 hours in the field service per month and placed a total of 17,291 magazines and hundreds of books in their well-worked territory. These longtimers are honored by their congregation members and respected by their neighbors.

Ruth Ulrich, now in her 87th year of life, has spent 68 of those years in the pioneer and missionary work. She says: “It has been faith-strengthening to me to see all these people come out of pagan religions into the truth and really become our brothers and sisters.”

As we have looked through the “family album” that tells of the modern-day history of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan, we have met many of these zealous servants of Jehovah. But these are only a handful of the more than 220,000 in Japan who are proclaiming the good news about God’s Kingdom. The missionaries are deeply satisfied with the accomplishments of their spiritual children and grandchildren, to the third and fourth generation. They also look forward with keen interest to seeing what role Jehovah will yet have them play, both during the closing days of the present system and in his marvelous new world, now very near at hand!

 [Full-page picture on page 66]

[Pictures on page 71]

Loyal Japanese publishers from prewar times: (1) Jizo and Matsue Ishii, (2) Miyo Idei, (3) Katsuo and Hagino Miura

[Pictures on page 72, 73]

Some missionaries who began to serve in Japan in 1949-50: (1) Don and Mabel Haslett, (2) Lloyd and Melba Barry, (3) Jerry and Yoshi Toma, (4) Elsie Tanigawa, (5, 6) Percy and Ilma Iszlaub, (7) Norrine Thompson (née Miller), (8) Adrian Thompson, (9) Lois Dyer, (10) Molly Heron, (11) Shinichi and Masako Tohara

[Picture on page 79]

N. H. Knorr (left, above) addressing assembly, in 1951, at Kobe missionary home

[Picture on page 81]

Grace (top) and Gladys Gregory, from Gilead School’s 11th class

[Picture on page 82]

Margrit Winteler (right, Gilead’s 23rd class) joined her sister Lena (15th class) in Japan

[Picture on page 88]

Don Haslett and Lloyd Barry at Tokyo Bethel Home, 1953

[Picture on page 89]

Japanese special pioneers who have served for 40 years (left to right): Takako Sato, Hisako Wakui, Kazuko Kobayashi

[Picture on page 90]

Okinawa branch, 1979

[Picture on page 95]

Heading out for winter witnessing in Hokkaido

[Pictures on page 95]

Top: Adeline Nako

Bottom: Lillian Samson

[Picture on page 99]

Yuriko Eto

[Picture on page 102]

A happy pioneer family starting out for field service

[Pictures on page 110]

Branch office in Tokyo, 1949-62

Branch office in Tokyo, 1963-73

Branch facilities in Numazu, 1972-82

[Picture on page 115]

Toshio Honma, branch overseer in the mid-1970’s

[Picture on page 116]

Branch Committee in 1997 (left to right): Richard Bailey, Shigeo Ikehata, Isamu Sugiura, Masataro Oda, Makoto Nakajima, Yoshihiro Nagasaki, Kenji Mimura

[Picture on page 124]

James Mantz shared in factory oversight (shown with wife, Sarah)

[Pictures on page 132]

Assembly Halls: Hyogo, Ebina, Kansai

[Picture on page 139]

Kunihito Kobayashi

[Picture on page 142]

Kobe after the earthquake in 1995

[Picture on page 150]

Masayuki and Masako Yamamoto

[Pictures on page 156]

Japanese delegates at overseas conventions: (1) Kenya, (2) South Africa, (3) Russia

[Pictures on page 158]

Branch office and Bethel Home in Ebina; inset shows additions being made in 1997