2011: Crisis in Japan

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Japan has always been Yugo Kobari's home away from home. He grew up there. Kobari, now 52 and pastor of Chicago Japanese Mission Church in Mount Prospect, Ill., admits he struggles to keep back tears when he watches the news.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--This morning (March 18) in response to deteriorating conditions following the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power crisis, all International Mission Board personnel in east Japan began relocating southwest of Tokyo. They will be given temporary assignments south of Nagoya. The relocation is expected to be complete by Saturday, March 19. In addition, Navy Admiral Robert Willard announced Thursday that the military has developed contingency plans to evacuate 87,000 Americans — including Defense Department personnel — from Tokyo and the surrounding areas. Please continue praying for the people of Japan and our missionaries who serve among them in this difficult time. The Baptist Press story posted Thursday, March 17, prior to the IMB relocation announcement follows: In Japan: Americans wonder if they should go or stay By Susie Rain TOKYO (BP)--One week into the world's worst nuclear emergency in 25 years, the United States has offered to evacuate American citizens living in Japan. The U.S. embassy in Tokyo urged Americans to stay at least 50 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant -- four times the distance recommended by the Japanese government. Fleeing the country has not been simple for people trying to get out of Japan. Flights have sold out quickly, with lines of prospective passengers snaking out the airport terminal. With no trains and little gasoline, transportation to Tokyo from the north has been nearly impossible. Two Southern Baptist missionary families living in northeastern Japan already have relocated to southern Japan. The third family, living outside the mandatory evacuation zone -- a 30-mile radius from the nuclear plant -- is in the process of relocating. Many people in Tokyo, however, have chosen to stay or simply continue moving south. Despite the U.S. Embassy's offer, their own offices in Tokyo remain open and they have not ordered families to leave. "Why would I want to leave before it's time?" asked an American businessman living in Tokyo. "My family in the States keeps calling and wanting me to leave Japan and come 'home.' They forget that Japan is my home too. "I'm not saying my family won't ever evacuate," the businessman added, noting he offered the employees of his international business the opportunity to relocate. "It's not the right time for my family. We feel safe and are watching the news and warnings. We feel this is an opportune time to minister to our neighbors and our adoptive country."

TOKYO (BP)--Across the upper half of Japan, life is either in tatters or at a standstill. With some roads impassable and fuel almost nonexistent in the north, relief and rescue workers have struggled to reach the areas where they are needed most.

TOKYO (BP)--The danger of radiation from damaged nuclear reactors has greatly complicated Southern Baptist disaster relief efforts in Japan, one member of the assessment team reported March 15.       A third explosion at a nuclear plant March 15 exposed fuel rods for several hours, sending radiation levels soaring to 163 times previous levels, the United Nations reported. The government responded by ordering people living within 19 miles of the nuclear complex to stay indoors to avoid exposure.       "The crisis at the nuclear power plant further complicates the situation," said one member of the Baptist Global Response disaster relief assessment team who arrived in Tokyo March 12. "Presently our ability to respond to the tsunami is minimal because access to the coastal areas is severely curtailed as the government responds to the crises in the area. We are concentrating our assessment on non-coastal areas where damage was caused by the earthquake."       The Japan disaster relief situation is unlike any other in recent history, noted Pat Melancon, BGR's disaster management specialist.       "When most disasters occur, a single event is normally accompanied by a fairly set list of accompanying effects. Floods will leave mud, destroy crops, damage homes, contaminate water supplies and cause sicknesses," Melancon said. "When earthquakes occur, you see some of the same results, with additional problems like interrupted transportation, widespread structural damage or destruction and the like.       "The Japan event, however, is different. Here we have three catastrophic events: the earthquake, which did much damage in areas not being featured in the news; the tsunami, which hit the low coastal areas of Japan especially hard; and now an additional unfolding event -- the demise of nuclear power plants."

TOKYO (BP)--A veteran missionary in Japan says people who want to help Japan in this crisis can help best by continuing to pray, saying: "You can't imagine what a comfort that is."

SOMA, Japan (BP)--Dangerous levels of radiation, leaking from a crippled nuclear plant, forced Japan to order 140,000 people to seal themselves indoors March 15 and prompted two missionary families to leave their homes.

SENDAI, Japan (BP)--Donna Qualls is just happy to be alive. Of the 31 International Mission Board families living in Japan, the family of six lives closest to the areas most affected by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

TOKYO (BP)--Watching news reports on television is overwhelming. It is not just one event … one place … one story. It is a vast collage of human suffering. Yet, even the pain you see on television is understated because the Japanese are stoic in nature.

TOKYO (BP)--A two-member Southern Baptist disaster relief assessment team arrived in Tokyo March 12 as the estimated death toll from Japan's earthquake soared past 10,000 and nuclear plant operators worked frantically to prevent meltdowns.

TOKYO (BP)--Japanese Christians, although a small minority of the battered Asian nation's populace, gathered in churches and Bible studies Sunday to pray for those still missing after the March 11 earthquake -- now listed as 9.0 in magnitude -- and tsunami.       Teresa Seelen, a Southern Baptist missionary, worshipped at one church where believers spent the entire service praying for friends and family by name, as well as collecting a love offering for disaster relief following the country's strongest-ever earthquake and the tsunami's walls of seawater that destroyed vast numbers of neighborhoods and villages along Japan's northern Pacific coast.       "Through tears, they called out names and lifted them to God," Seleen said of the members' prayers. "We prayed for courage for the believers to reach out with the Gospel. … It was precious to see the generosity of this small group of believers."       With most stores and gas stations closed, the main task for many in the hardest-hit areas Sunday was just getting by. Scores lined up at the few gas stations and grocery stores that were open. International Mission Board missionary Sharon Bennett said shelves were largely empty amid the rush to get food.       Christian organizations gathered Sunday to figure out a game plan for distributing aid strategically as they minister to the needs of the Japanese. A Baptist disaster relief assessment team is on the ground evaluating needs and opportunities for response.       Japanese authorities were continuing to operate on the presumption March 14 that meltdowns may be underway at two nuclear reactors after the earthquake and tsunami. However, government officials said there are so far no indications of hazardous emissions of radioactive material into the atmosphere. About 180,000 people have been evacuated from the area.