Japan (MNN ) — On this day 10 years ago, a triple disaster rocked Japan. A 9.0 magnitude earthquake sent a tsunami hurtling into the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Three reactors melted down, spewing radioactive material into the air. Read a complete timeline of the disaster here.
Takeshi Takazawa of Asian Access says, “We want to think, ‘That was it. We went through hardship enough. So until Jesus comes back, this will be the end. We just continue without earthquakes or any disaster or suffering.’ But it was a wake-up call that this can happen anyplace, anytime, to anybody.”
Japanese Christians
But God works in a mysterious new way in the world, Takazawa says. And He doesn’t stop in times of pain and hardship. “The global Church came together as one and came alongside the part that was hurting. We felt [their love] not just theological reflection. We saw it, we touched, and we smelled it. We tasted the global Church.”
The disaster also taught Japanese Christians to move towards areas of disaster and hardship, not away from them. “Of course, an evacuation was needed for the moment. But where they live, the Church must be established, raising leaders for the harvest, from the harvest.” Pray God will bless their continuing ministry in a country that still bears scars from this catastrophe.
The header image shows a small town in Japan abandoned after the triple disaster. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
