JBS NEWS INTERNATIONALJBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

April 2019 Vol.16

Rise for the Great Commission
God's Word - Living Hope for All
Greetings from Japan Bible Society“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free the oppressed
and announce that the time has comeLuke 4:18-19(GNT)
when the Lord will save his people.”Rev. Makoto Watabe

W

JBS General Secretarye thank God that wecan deliver to you thisannual newsletter.
This is the only tool that introduces
the works of Japan Bible Society toother countries in a language otherthan Japanese. We hope you enjoy
reading and getting a glimps ofwhat is happening in Japan.
L a s t D e c e m b e r, f o r t h e f i r s ttime in 31 years, we publisheda new Japanese translation“Bible, Japan Bible SocietyInterconfessional Version.” After 8years of preparation and 8 years oftranslation, 16 years in total, withthe cooperation of 150 academics
including Greek and Hebrew
translators, experts in Japanese
language, poets, editors andvolunteer checkers, it was finallycompleted. The first Japanesetranslation in Japan was publishedin 1887. 5 translations were donein the past 130 years. The 4th and5th are in cooperation with theCatholic and Protestant churches
and as for the 4th, interconfessionaltranslation, 13 million copies were
distributed since its publication.
The new translation is based on
the Skopos theory adopted by
the Netherlands Bible Society.
We aimed to translate into moresophisticated Japanese, so that it
would be better understood andsound beautiful and flow naturalwhen it is read orally. We hope ournew Bible will reach more Japanesepeople so that they will encounterthe Word of God.
L a s t l y, I ’ m r e t i r i n g f r o m m ycurrest position as the GS andRev. Gushiken is taking over myresponsibilities and duties. I thank
God that I was able to work withthe colleagues of Bible Societies
around the world. May the Lord
continue to bless you.

Deputy General Secretary
Kiyoshi Gushiken

Courtesy Call to World Council of Churches
(WCC)

G

eneral Secretary Watabe and Deputy
General Secretary Gushiken visited theWo r l d C o u n c i l o f C h u r c h e s ( W C C )headquarter in Geneve in May 2018. GS Watabe waselected as Moderator of National Christian Council inJapan (NCCJ) in April 2018. They met with General
Secretary Olav Fykse Tveit to discuss how they canfurther deepen their relationships. WCC and NCCJ
both celebrated their 70th anniversary in 2018.

Shippo-Yaki (Japanese Cloisonné plate) with design ofMt.Fuji was presented to GS Olav Fykse Tveit

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JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Current State of Digital Bible

Deputy General Secretary Kiyoshi Gushiken at DBL summit (right)

Deputy General Secretary Gushiken
attended the UBS Digital Academy heldin Taiwan in April 2018. In September,the 4th UBS Digital Bible Library (DBL) summit
took place at the Museum of the Bible in Washington
DC, and General Secretary Watabe and Deputy GS
Gushiken participated. More than 100 people were

YouVersion – 10th Anniversary Celebration

there representing 10 Bible Societies and 29 mission
organizations in the US. YouVersion, a free download
Bible app, marked the 10th anniversary since its
release, and a celebration dinner was held. YouVersion
is now available in more than 1,000 languages, offering
nearly 1,500 versions & translations, and recorded
more than 25 million downloads so far.

Christian News Site “Christian Press” Launched

In June 2018, Japan Bible Society launched a
new project “Christian Press” - a news website
which distributes news on the churches andChristian communities.
More people have become dependent on receiving theinformation via internet rather than newspapers and TV.
In modern society with the flood of information, wewould like to deliver the most reliable news and bringscent-of-Christ to people and hope to cast light on thisera of uncertainty. Taking advantage of the worldwide
platform, we would like to deliver the good news, goodmessages rapidly at low cost to not only Christians but
also to non-Christians.

An agreement was signed with Christianity Today, US.

News site launched by JBS Christian Press

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Japan Bible Society and Audio Visual
Activities Commission (AVACO) Merged

A recording studio at AVACO

Au d i o Vi s u a l A c t i v i t i e s C o m m i s s i o n(AVACO) and Japan Bible Society weremerged in January 2019. AVACO is a
Christian organization mainly producing educational

materials for children. There are a recording studioand a motion picture studio as a related company.
The acquisition will strengthen the development ofeducational materials for children.

The 3rd JBS Video Clip Competition
Award 2018

Best Award: “I’ve asked Christians”

V

ideo Clip Competition Award is a project
which invites participants to submit originalvideo films based on Biblical words orcontents. In this competition, we received 48 entries
from April to July 2018. Four judges evaluated eachfilm and selected 20 films as prize winners. Thisaward offered two categories; 1) 1-minute video clipfor CM category and 2) 3-minute video clip for shortfilm category. Awarding ceremony was held at United
Cinemas Toyosu, Tokyo.

United Cinemas Toyosu was the venue for the awardceremony

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JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL“Bible, Japan Bible Society Interconfessional
Version” publishedT

he 5th and the latest Japanese translation“Bible, Japan Bible Society Interconfessional
Version” was published in December 2018.
It took us 8 years to complete the translation whichstarted in 2010. We were able to complete it in such a“Bible, Japan Bible Society Interconfessional
Version” unveiled!

short period because of paratext, a translation support
software, which helped translate the text efficiently.
The dedication and the efforts of those involved in theproject were indispensable.

Group photo after thededication ceremony

Press Conference on thePublication of “Bible, Japan Bible
Society Interconfessional Version”

T

he press conference was held at Ginza Church
on 3rd December 2018. General Secretary
Watabe explained that this accomplishment
was especially significant because it is the fruit of theCatholic and Protestant churches’ cooperative work.
He also mentioned that only 8 years were spent tocomplete it. With the implementation of IT,
the translators and poets worked as a team to makemore sophisticated Japanese text. Mr. Shimasaki, thetranslation coordinator and manager, showed someexamples of the words that were cautiously treated.

GS Watabe (right) and Dr. Shimasaki (left) at the press conference

Newly translated Bible

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Commemorative Lecture for Japan Bible
Society Interconfessional Version Publication
and Dedication CeremonyAcommemorative lecture and a dedication
ceremony for the new Bible translation
took place at Ginza Church on 22ndFebruary 2019. 200 people gathered and celebrated thepublication. This translation project adopted the Skopos
theory and aimed to produce a more sophisticatedtext suitable for oral reading at church. Professor Dr.
Lourens de Vries, Free Univ. Amsterdam, Netherlands,
who advocates the Skopos theory, gave a lecturesaying that using this theory, the Netherlands Bible
Society was able to translate the Bible successfully. He
commented that Japan Bible Society Interconfessional
Version was the younger sister of theDutch Bible and congratulated
the completion of thetranslation.

Rev. Hiroshi Omiya, Chair of JBS board,delivered a word at the ceremony

GS WatabeAPublic Lecture: The Word of God
and Us who Live Today: Why keeptranslating the Bible?

commemorative lecture for the newtranslation was held at Sophia University
on 23rd February 2019 and 500 people
attended. The main lecturer Prof. Dr. Lourens de Vries
gave a lecture titled “The Word of God and Us whoLive Today: Why keep translating the Bible?” Professor

Dr. Lourens De Vries lecturing at Sophia University

Akio Tsukimoto, emeritus prof. of Rikkyo University/
special-appointment prof. of Theology at Sophia
University gave a speech titled “Bible translations andmodern times: to Japan Bible Society Interconfessional
Version” in which he referred to the relevance of theBible and ecumenism.

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Armenian Apostolic Church, Orthodox Churchand UBS joint meetingAn “Armenian Apostolic Church, Orthodox
Church and UBS joint meeting” was heldin Yerevan, Republic of Armenia, hostedby UBS Church Relations Committee. Being on thecommittee, General Secretary Watabe attended also.

In the joint statement, they announced the building ofstronger cooperative structures in the areas of Bible
translation and distribution. The 20 participants werefrom the neighbouring countries including Russia,Kazakhstan, and Slovakia.

Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, andUBS joint meeting

Bible competition for middle school students

Visit to the Bolivian Bible SocietyOn February 2nd, 2019, General Secretary Rev.
Watabe and Emi Beland, Financial Manager,
visited the Bolivian Bible Society. 36 native
tribes’ languages are spoken in Bolivia. For the purposeof improving the literacy of Aymara people, Japan Bible
Society decided to support the distribution of Biblicaleducation materials for Aymara children. JBS’s focus on
the minority tribe and the marginalized group, especiallychildren, is because we hope that they will grow up in
the Grace of God and receive blessings as they encounter
life’s challenges as adults.

Bible delivery truck

Bolivian Bible Society bookstore

With Bolivian Bible Society staff

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Global Caribbean Summit and Society of Biblical
Literature (SBL) Annual Meeting

General Secretary Watabe participated in
the Global Caribbean Summit held in
November 2018. 600 people gathered
including church leaders working in 31 Caribbeancountries.

In the same month, the Annual Meeting of Societyof Biblical Literature (SBL) was held in Denver. GS
Watabe attended several sessions and workshops
organized by German Bible Society and American
Bible Society.

Global Caribbean Summit in Trinidad and Tobago

Colorado Convention Center in Denver

Visit to the China Christian Council

U

BS Church Relations Committee organizeda visit to Chinese churches and General
Secretary Watabe took part as a committee

member.
They had a meeting with China's National Religious
Affairs Administration (NRAA) in Beijing, theologicalseminaries, and church-related people. Joseph Ma
Yinglin, President of Bishops Conference of Catholic

Church of the Savior, Beijing ©Michele Lee

Church in China and Deputy General Secretary ofChinese Patriotic Catholic Association, explained
the current situation of Chinese Patriotic Catholic
Association and Chinazation of Christianity. Heemphasized that churches in China have focused on
the massive change after Chinese economic reform andhave been contributing to social welfare and education.

People praying in the church

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JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

National Bible Quiz Grand Championship in Tokyo
The Bible Quiz Championship, aproject aiming for familiarizing morepeople with the Bible through biblicalquizzes, took place across several cities
around Japan, starting in Tokyo in 2014.
And in August 2018, National Bible QuizGrand Championship was held in Tokyo
to decide on who would be the grandchampion among the winners from theregional competitions. Eleven teams fought
in a tournament, and it became a very
tough match. The grand champion was a
16-year old high school student’s team, thewinner of the 8th regional championship inKobe. He participated in the International
Bible Championship Jerusalem in Prague
in May 2018.

Grand champion Terima Kasih Yesus and Rev. Hiroshi Omiya,
Chair of the board

Participants
responding to thequestions

Rugby World Cup 2019The 9th Rugby World Cup 2019 will takeplace in Japan for the first time. The opening
match will be held in Tokyo on September
20th and the final match will be played inYokohama on November 2nd. The previous
World Cup, held in England in 2015, Japan had
a remarkable victory against South Africa, who
was ranked 3rd in the world and had won twiceat the World Cup.
It is considered as a run-up to the Tokyo
2020 Summer Olympics. Will they achieve goodresults? Japanese people are looking forward toits opening.

Ad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup seen in Ginza

Japan Bible Society

Since 18755-1 Ginza 4-Chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 104-0061
Public Relation Dept. Phone: +81(0) 3-3567-1988 Fax: +81(0) 3-3567-4436
21 April 2019e-mail: info@bible.or.jp http://www.bible.or.jp