Japan News Courtesy of Amy Chavez

1.Japan Lite: 'You know you've been in Japan waaay too long when... (@newsonjapan)
http://bit.ly/5SUl5e
2. Japanese PM Starts Blog and Tweeting (@BlogLinkJapan)
http://bit.ly/6mKCbz
3. The art of the Japanese bathroom RT @BAKOKO @JapanIntercult
http://post.ly/Hvln
4. Japanese schoolchildren often hold hanseikai, or 'reflection talks' (@newsonjapan)
http://bit.ly/5xjt1Z
5. A book to help cycling fans find added enjoyment in Tokyo (@newsonjapan)
http://bit.ly/7zasSY
6. Seijin no Hi (@BlogLinkJapan)
http://bit.ly/4w35gn
7. Takara Tomy unveils a portable "sound princess" for squeamish tinklers (@japan_pulse)
http://ow.ly/UZCf (Japanese)
8. Japanese invention: Dandelion Lamp (BlogLinkJapan):
http://bit.ly/8dEXMU
9. World's longest instant noodles measuring 1 meter go on sale (@japansociety)
http://ow.ly/ZThE
10. A day at the Anpanman Museum in Yokohama. How many characters can you name? (@shibuya246)
http://shibuya246.com/2010/01/12/anpanman-museum/

Born in Japan, but ordered out

Nationality in Japan is based on blood and parentage, not place of birth. This island nation was closed to the outside world until the 1850s, when U.S. warships forced it to open up to trade. Wariness of foreigners remains a potent political force, one that politicians dare not ignore, especially when the economy is weak.
As a result, the number of illegal immigrants has been slashed, often by deportation, from 300,000 in 1995 to just 130,000, a minuscule number in comparison to other rich countries. The United States, whose population is 2 1/2 times that of Japan's, has about 90 times as many illegal immigrants (11.6 million). Read more of this story here……

Prison in Japan: Part 1 “The Taxi Ride”

Being in prison in Japan (or any country for that matter) is something that nobody would actually want to experience, Japanese or gaijin alike. But there is something about Japanese prisons, and the system that they have here that has always been shrouded in mystery, and swept into a deep dark corner of Japanese life that few will ever find out about. There is not a person in Japan who watched the whole Livedoor ordeal and subsequent arrest and subsequent incarceration of Takafumi “Horiemon” Horie, without wondering at some stage what he must be going though. We have all seen the western TV dramas set in prison, or may know someone close that has been on the inside in a western country, but the Japanese prison system escapes my imagination. Read on.......

Update: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9 and Part 10 of the “Prison in Japan” series are now available.

Ridley Prayer Points January 2010

 

Happy New Year to you all.

We have begun 2010 with very cold weather and snow, snow, snow!  We have just returned from a work into our village to do some shopping and it was quite lovely walking in the snow.  We have not been shut in here like other parts of Europe (but this could change during this week!).  We are warm and comfortable and each day we thank God for his provision of our home here in Schopfheim.

We had a visit to an ALS Specialist in Ulm, Germany on 21 December (bad timing).  We were terribly upset after the visit as Roger shows continuing signs of ALS spreading to other parts of his body (leg and tongue).  He continues to have use of his left hand but it is not good in the cold and he does get frustrated by buttons and small tasks like that.  He's still on the roster for home duties though!!

We have much to look forward to in 2010 and continue to value your friendship and prayers for us and our ministry in this little corner of God's wonderful world.  Please stay in touch with us rgridley@internode.on.net and let us know how you are going.  We try as much as we can to keep up with emails, but sometimes it takes us a while to respond!

May you know God's peace, care and guidance throughout 2010.

With our love, Roger and Gaynor

http://www.mosaicbasel.com/index.html

Prayer Update                                                                                            January 2010

Praise Points

• A good party with 16 friends following the Anglican Carol service on 13 December.
• For a wonderful celebration of Christmas Day with 5 friends (3 not yet followers of Jesus) at our home.
• Roger preached his heart out on 27 December (at Crossroads Basel) and there has been humbling excellent responsiveness.
• We enjoyed a precious 5 days over New Year with American colleagues Keith & Deborah who are engaged in similar ministry to us near Paris.
• We have very good health even though there have been several people around us who have been struck down with flu.
• Hooks and Needles had its best turnout for months with the first 2010 meeting.

Prayer Points

• We are very concerned that Crossroads Basel has quite fluctuating services so it is problematic to pick times suitable to invite not yet followers of Jesus.  Crossroads International Church of Basel is currently looking for a new minister.
• Good judgment is needed as to how much we commit ourselves to activities when the weather is so cold.
• We have decided this will be our last year here, so we need not only continuing financial support in 2010 but also to prepare for our next place to live and serve God in Australia.
• That Roger will have more opportunity to preach!!
• We need wisdom in our planning for the next two or three months at Centrepoint.
• We desire that we will always radiate the light and life of Jesus in every encounter, conversation and meal with people and to make the most of our time left.
• For Tim and Amy, Jocelyn (who starts a new job on 12 January), Glenda and Tom.

Photos from Guantanamo caused stir

Ricardo Lopez/Miami Herald staff

A Navy combat camera photographer was just doing his job at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo on Jan. 11, 2002, the day the first war on terror captives arrived. Little did he know that the pictures he took that day would emerge an enduring image of the controversial prison camps.

English lifeline helping out both foreigners, Japanese

By Maya Kaneko

TOKYO —

With suicides topping 30,000 for the 12th consecutive year in 2009, the international community has not proved immune to the mental health challenges posed by this stressful country, and the prolonged economic downturn has only made problems worse.

Tokyo English Life Line, which has been providing free and anonymous English-language telephone counseling for more than 35 years, extends a helping hand to both expatriates and Japanese facing depression, suicide temptation, problems in cultural adjustment, relationships and the workplace, as well as health concerns.
A nonprofit organization, TELL is associated with the Japanese-language telephone counseling service Inochi no Denwa and has about 90 volunteer counselors in their 20s to 70s who handle up to 7,000 calls a year. Depression was the top reason for help calls in 2008.
The service is open 365 days a year from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., and knowledge of it has spread mainly by word of mouth among the diplomatic and business communities, as well as international schools, according to Linda Semlitz, a U.S. psychiatrist who serves as clinical director of TELL’s community counseling service. Read more here....