Personal Reflections 1: Mission work in Japan - too comfortable & rosy?

Shopping in the Electric City (Akihabara), soaking in an onsen (hot spring), mouth-watering and fascinating food, karaoke, comfortable accommodation in air-conditioned rooms, high-speed internet access... Is the life of a short-term worker or long-term missionary in Japan too comfortable and rosy?

I began to ask myself this question after a couple of comfortable weeks in Japan; that I should slip into such a thought is highly ironic, and I'll explain why. Many people, even Christians, are perplexed by the idea of sending missionaries to Japan or participation in a mission trip to Japan, for they wonder why such an affluent country as Japan would need missionaries. This probably explains why Japan is relatively forgotten (less so nowadays though) by missionaries and in prayers.

But anyone who identifies with this notion has forgotten that the heart of missions is the Gospel, not building schools and painting walls, and definitely not suffering in less-than-hygienic conditions. Nowhere in the Bible suggests that missionaries must deliberately plant themselves in conditions similar to those experienced by Hudson Taylor in inland China or Charles Studd (founder of WEC) in inland Africa back in the 1800s, in order to be qualified as a missionary. Anywhere with unreached people and/or a high concentration of non-Christians needs missionaries, and anyone seeking to reach that with the Gospel is a missionary; it's as simple as that.

And this misconception is one of my main reason for choosing to spend a month in Japan this summer, for I too was once a victim of this erroneous thought, which we so often commit unconsciously. A few years ago, when a full-time OMF missionary in Japan shared about her work in Japan at a mission conference in Singapore, I found myself being puzzled for the reasons stated above. And when I finally realised my mistake, I was immediately filled with a burden for the forgotten people of Japan, who desperately need to hear the Gospel; hence the irony of asking myself such a question again, after committing myself to act upon that mistake.

So, dear friends, as you consider the mission fields in which you can serve, please don't forget the affluent countries like Japan; and the words of Jesus after His encounter with the rich young ruler - "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:25) - resonates with this important message that I wish to share with you today.

Yao Yu