JBS NEWS INTERNATIONALJBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL
Rise for the Great Commission

April 2017 Vol.14

God's Word - Living Hope for AllOrthodox

Greetings from Japan Bible Society“I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered.
“Without me, no one can go to the Father.”(John 14:6 GNT)

Rev. Makoto Watabe

JBS General SecretaryJ

apan Bible Society is
working on the third Bible
translation after the World

1%

Others11%
Independent
Evangelical 2%9%Alliance1%
Catholic
Reformed1%
Presbyterian 1%
Holiness 3%
Lutheran 3%
Baptist United4%
ChurchWar II. Our translation theory isthe Scopos Theory adopted by theNetherlands Bible Society. We
started translating in 2010 and areplanning to publish it in the springof 2019. Currently, more than
170 scholars, including Biblicallanguage scholars, Japanese
language specialists, theologians,clergies, archeologists, monitors,
are engaged in this work.
Following this bible
translation theory, we have decided
that the Bible for this project is to beread and understood correctly as the42%

of Christ
17%

AnglicanDenominations in Japan 2016

Word of God at the church worshipservice and it is being translated
following this understanding.
It is an inter-confessionaltranslation with the Catholic and
the Protestant churches, and 80% of
the Japanese Christian population
are expected to adopt this Bible
and it will be the Bible for the next
generation for the next 30 years.

The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation: ACelebration Week to be held in September 2017

Original Logo of the Reformation
designed by JBS

Japan Bible Society isdedicating an entire week
in September 2017 tocelebrate the 500th Anniversary ofthe Reformation. A commemorative
exhibition will be held from 12th

to 17th, September, at the Ginza
Church in the center of Tokyo. Here,a collection of valuable Bibles held
by JBS Library and a commentary
panel on the Reformation will be
exhibited and mini lectures on
topics such as art, music and bible
binding will be held.
Also, a lecture entitled"Significance of the Reformation
for the Contemporary World" byProfessor Emeritus Hans-Martin
Barth from Germany will be heldin the afternoon of the 18th. In
the evening, we are planning an"Ecumenical Memorial Dinner"at the Imperial Hotel, in which

Professor Emeritus
Hans-Martin Barth

Professor Saiki Eguchi of Japan
Lutheran College University will
give a short lecture.
In order to commemorate the500th Anniversary with the entire
Christian community in Japan, JBS
has created a unified logo for theAnniversary and is calling for its
use.

5%

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Republican and Democratic Party pray for theirPresident▲

Barry Black,chaplain ofthe United State Senate
Scripture selection
produced and distributed bythe American Bible Society▲

2Rev. Watabe attended the annual US National
Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C., thecapital of the United States, on February
2nd. President Donald Trump attended this breakfast.
Participants exceeded the record 4,000 including
politicians, military personnel and business people.
The highlight of the prayer meeting was thespeech given before the President's by the first African
American and the first Seventh-day Adventist, Rev.
Barry Black, the former chief chaplain of the UnitedStates Navy. He said that if President Trump behaves
proudly, God will cut down the root like the big tree
and he will be driven from the throne. The audience©CBS NEWSapplauded. The media also said that it was the best
sermon in history.
President Trump who took the rostrum next toldthat he would abolish restrictions on religious leader'spolitical activities, saying "freedom is not a gift fromthe state, but a gift from God." He also expressed strong
opposition to those who intentionally destroy worldpeace. It was impressive to see that immediately before
the closing time, two representatives of Republican andDemocratic parties who served as hosts gave prayersof blessings, with the President in the center, and heresponded to it.

The Relationship Between the Bible Societies
and the Catholic Church in the Asia-PacificR

ev. Watabe and the manager of translation
dept., Junichi Iwamoto, participated in "Asia
Pacific Catholic Affinity Group Meeting"held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on July 26 and 27, 2016.
Fifteen representatives from 11 Bible Societies inthe Asia-Pacific region gathered for the first time todiscuss strengthening the relationship between theBible Societies and the Roman Catholic Church ineach country. 3.9 billion people, 53.6% of the world'spopulation, live in the Asia-Pacific region, among

which 8.3%, 330 million are Christians (Protestants54.2%, Catholics 44.9%). At the conference it wasconfirmed that the Bible Society of each country had
room for further cooperation with the Catholic Church
in distribution of the Bible, fundraising, education,pastoring, etc. The Inter-confessional Translation
Project of the Japan Bible Society and the Catholic
Church has been highly valued as a successful example
in the Asian region.

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Chinese Manga Bible Published with theSupport of JBS

R▲ with Elder Fu
At Amity Printing▲

ev. Watabe, financial manager, Emi Béland, and production dept.
manager, Makoto Nakano visited China Christian Council (CCC)
and the Three -Self Patriotic Movement Committee (TSPM)
from 19th to 24th July 2016.
The Chair of the NationalCommittee of TSPM, Elder Fu
Xianwei reported to us that the"Chinese Manga Bible" waspublished under JBS’ support.
Béland and Nakano also visited
Nanjing Amity Printing tonegotiate some productionorders.

Meeting of Northeast Asian Bible Societies heldin Busan, Korea

From 17th to 19th January 2017, the Northeast
Asian Bible Societies Meeting, known as the"chopstick meeting," was held at Haeundae,
the scenic spot of Busan, the second largest city inKorea. Total of 18 people gathered from Taiwan,
Korea and Japan including General Secretaries fromeach country. It was a good opportunity to exchange
information on the situation of each Bible Society,to confirm friendship as Bible Societies in the sameNortheast Asia region and to pray for one another.
This meeting is held every two year with a purpose todeepen friendship for young and new staff members.
The last meeting was held in Okinawa in 2014 and thenext meeting will be held in Taiwan in 2018, hosted byTaiwan Bible Society.

Everyone is holding chopsticks

Digital Community Building Strategy in Japan

JBS held a staff workshop with Mr. Nelson Saba, the UBS
Digital Publishing Strategist, in January 2017. After theworkshop, two staff members of JBS participated in aworkshop jointly hosted by UBS and You Version in Chiang Mai.
We are planning further to proactively utilize socialnetworks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

There is an AR in thearticle of Bible Video
Contest 2016 on p.7
Download the applicationand try scanning.

Mr. N. Saba

3

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JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Participating in SBL Annual Meeting in USand RMG in Mexico

Re v. Wa t a b e a n d b o o k s h o p m a n a g e rJunnosuke Suzuki participated in the Societyof Biblical Literature Annual Meeting heldin San Antonio, Texas, USA in November 2016. Many
prominent scholars from all over the world gathered at
this meeting. At the symposium, two prolific writers ofNew Testament theology, N.T. Wright of St. Andrews
University and Richard Hayes of George Washington
University, spoke on their most recent books. Many
Christian bookpublishers opened
their booths in thevenue, and Richard
Hayes' books inparticular werepiled.

Richard Hayes' books

After SBL, they went to Mexico City toparticipate in the Resource Mobilisation Group (RMG)
meeting. RMG is a UBS conference where supporting
Bible Societies exchange their views on the supportof the Bible Societies around the world. The Bible
Society of Mexico conducts activities to encourage
improvements in the Mexican society. We prayed thatthe Bible Societies around the world would cooperate
together even more for the furtherance of the Gospel.

Praying for the Bible Society of Mexico

Reports on Support for Overseas Bible Production:
Remitted 24,878,526 yen to 13 countries

JBS provided 24,878,526 yen assistance tosupport ISP project in 13 countries aroundthe world in FY 2016. As a partner in thesame Northeast Asia region, we sent 2,000,000 yen tosupport the translation of the Bible from the original
languages in Mongolia. Also, we were able to give
2,000,000 yen to a project to distribute 1 million copiesof the Bible to support
Bible education at schools
in Cuba. For both projects,
we are helping children
who will be responsible
for the next generation. We
sincerely thank you for all
your prayers and donations.
Through your generosity,
we were able to support thefruitful projects of BibleWork. Please continue toremember and pray for ourministries.

The Bible distribution in Cuba
Prayer Meeting: JBS staff praying for Mongolia and Cuba

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

ABS and JBS to Partner in ISP Projects

Mr. Marco Herrera of the American Bible
Society and Ms. Jackie Nasreddine
visited JBS on February 13th and 14th.
They also visited the translation work place of Japan
Deaf Evangelical Mission in Japan and learned thecurrent state of the new Japanese sign language Bible
translation. Agreement was made between ABS andJBS to strengthen cooperation on translation projects inJapan.

Confirming strong bonds between ABS and JBS

Visiting the translation work place of Japan Deaf Evangelical
Mission

UBS President Cunville Spoke at Japan Keswick
Convention 2017

UBS President Rev. Dr. Robert Cunville
was invited as the main speaker at the56th Japan Keswick Convention held inthe vicinity of Tokyo from February 21st to 23rd ofFebruary, 2017. Rev. Cunville preached three times

in three days and exhorted Japanese Christians "toevangelize with hope." 500 participants gathered at thevenue and received encouragement.

Students heading to worshipRev. Dr. Robert Cunville, President of United Bible Societies©Christian Today

500 people at the venue of Heritage Resorts, Kumagaya City,Saitama Prefecture ©Christian Today56JBS NEWS INTERNATIONALThe Earthquake-ridden Country Promised New
Support to the United Bible Societies in Ecuador

In April 2016, a massive earthquake occurredin Ecuador. General Secretary Watabe visited
the United Bible Societies in Ecuador on
January 30th, 2017, and heard about the progress ofreconstruction. Nearly 30,000 residents lost theirhomes due to the earthquake of magnitude 7.8 and areforced to live in temporary housing now. The United
Bible Societies in Ecuador, in collaboration with localchurches, disaster relief organizations, the American
Bible Society, etc., launched a project to distribute

26 million copies of the Bible and 3,000 copies ofselections in the afflicted area located about 170 km
northwest of the capital city of Quito. General Secretary
Watabe said, "Japan is an earthquake-ridden country,
so we have supported Bible Societies that have sufferedfrom earthquakes such as Chile, Nepal, Haiti, etc. Thissummer I would like to encourage JBS supporters
to visit this site," and promised support to Executive
Director Freddy Guerrero.

Ms. Gladys Rengifo, Executive Director Assistant, showing one of theproductions to Rev. Watabe

Project presentation by Executive Director Freddy Guerrero

Engaging the Scripture Message of Hope in theGulfThe world "Gulf " of the Bible
S o c ie t y i n t h e G u l f m e a n sreg ion s a rou nd t he A r abia nGulf, which have seven countries: Kuwait, Bahrain,
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates
and Yemen. Their official language is Arabic, and thereligion is Muslim. The proportion of foreigners livingin this area is 50-80%, the majority of which are lowincome workers. More than 50% of the approximately
2.3 million Christian migrant workers residing inthese countries are said to be non-readers or illiterates.
In order to convey the Good News to them, theBible Society in the Gulf currently offers Bibles andDr. Hrayr Jebejian, General Secretary in the Gulf
(photo taken in Nicosia, Cyprus)

selections in more than 60 languages. JBS assisted theBible production project by Hellenic Bible Society, and
it is now sold in Cyprus Bible Society bookshop.

JBS NEWS INTERNATIONAL

1st JBS Video Clip Competition Award : BestWork Award goes to High school StudentsJapan Bible Society asked for original animatedworks created based on Biblical words andcontents from April 2016 to October 2016. As
a result, there were 67 entries in total. Four judges
selected outstanding works according to the criteriaof (1) correctly presenting Biblical messages, (2)excellence in creativity, composition and skill, (3)resonant, intriguing, and impactful.

Best Award (creative category): "Love your neighbor "On January 9th, 2017, at the Yamaha GinzaStudio in Tokyo, the 1st JBS Video Clip Competition
Award was held, screening 20 films nominated, andpresenting and awarding the works preselected by thejudges. All Award winning works can be viewed on theBible Society website until the end of the year.

Best Award (general category): "Remember the Lord ineverything you do, and he will show you the right way"

Bible Quiz Championships 2016

B

ible Quiz Championships were held in
Tok yo, Osa ka, Fu k uoka, Nagoya andSa p p o r o f r om 2014 w it h t he a i m offamiliarizing people with the Bible, and calling forreading the entire Bible, through quizzes from theBible. In 2016, championships were held in Sendaiin April, Kanazawa in July and Kobe in September.
A participating team would consist of three people,
mainly middle and high school students to university
students, from twenties to thirties of age. The prize

At Sendai

to the winning team in each region was a three-day
trip to Tokyo Disneyland and they became heatedcompetitions. The staff members were happy to hearfrom the participants that they wanted to read the Bible
more.
In 2017, the championships are scheduled to beheld in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture and inHiroshima City. JBS would like to send representatives
from Japan to the world quiz competition that will beheld in Prague, Czech Republic in 2018.

At Kobe78

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Foreign tourists visting Japan in 2016 haveincreased 22% from the previous year
Foreign tourists visiting Japan in 2016reached 240.3 million, an increase of 22%
over the previous year. Traditional historicalsites such as temples, shrines and Japanesegardens in Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima and Tokyo(Asakusa), as well as beautiful nature are still
popular among foreign tourists.
However, in recent years popularity has
moved from large cities to rural areas.
Jigokudani onsen in Nagano prefecture whereMonkeys (snow monkeys) soak themselves inhot springs is getting popular and 70% of theentrants are foreigners.
Universal Studios Japan in Osaka has 13.9

million visitors a year, and about half of the1.2 million that increased since the previousyear are foreigners. Harry Potter Area openedin 2014 is particularly popular. This is thebiggest Universal Studio outside the UnitedStates.

Snow monkeys are taking a bath

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in USJ

Japan Bible Society

Jigokudani Onsen
Universal Studios Japan

Since 1875
5-1 Ginza 4-Chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 104-0061
Public Relation Dept. Phone: +81(0) 3-3567-1988 Fax: +81(0) 3-3562-7227
21 April 2017e-mail: info@bible.or.jp http://www.bible.or.jp