Matthias Krammel in Japan

Did you know that about one third of food in Japan, most of it perfectly edible, is thrown away? In a nation that has to import more than half of its food, this is simply unbelievable. On top of that, an estimated 650.000 people do not have food security, meaning they do not know where their food for the next days ahead is going to come from.
Japanese society is very good at hiding problems such as poverty and other social issues. But they are there, one just has to look a little deeper to find them. You would think that churches here would be true to the ways of Jesus, and would assist the poor and feed the hungry. While there are some exceptions, the majority present a very disillusioning picture.
I was lucky to be able to meet the executive director of “Second Harvest Japan” yesterday. We had a good conversation about the challenges and opportunities for food banks in Japan. Click on the logo above to learn more.

“… even if the whole world believed in resurrection, little would change until we began to practice it. We can believe in CPR, but people will remain dead until someone breathes new life into them. And we can tell the world that there is life after death, but the world really seems to be wondering if there is life before death.
There is the kind of conversion that happens to people not because of how we talk but because of how we live. And our little experiments in truth become the schools for conversion, where folks can learn what it means for the old life to be gone and the new life to be upon us, no longer taking the broad path that leads to destruction. Conversion is not an event but a process, a process of slowly tearing ourselves from the clutches of the culture.”

Shane Claiborne in “The Irresistible Revolution”

We need resurrected lives today as much as ever. Especially in a society like Japan, where the bulk of people seem to be corporate slaves, wandering through their existence like aimless zombies.
Oh, how I wish churches here would point to the new life in more practical and authentic ways.

We had a fire drill on Monday morning. Not exactly what I would want to get out of bed for. But it was actually pretty interesting. The firemen explained some helpful emergency procedures. It’s good to see that Japanese are quite concerned about being prepared for disasters. You never know, the big earthquake might hit Tokyo tonight. Good thing we are not near any skyscrapers that could fall on us here. The university is about one hour from Tokyo station by train.

In these times of rising oil prices, it seems there is finally an increased awareness of the need for new, renewable energy sources. It is incredible how dependent mankind has become on a small number of fuels. When I am in developing countries I feel awful considering how most people have trouble paying for basic energy needs. Therefore I love learning about any kind of new energy technology that is not only renewable but also potentially affordable. Here are two companies with very interesting technologies I have come across recently:

In the “Eastern Thought” class here at Tokyo Christian University, we have been having a lot of discussions based on ideas from “The Book of Tea” by Kakuzo Okakura. He seems to try to explain beauty, aesthetics and civilization in general through the lens of tea and the teaism school of thought. There are a lot of positive things that can be said about the Japanese sense of beauty and harmony, but he is simply taking it too far in many parts. Regardless, we have had many interesting conversations in class spawned by Okakura’s book. I had to do a presentation on Taoism, for which I enjoyed doing the research. Recently, I actually started drinking a lot more green tea. I just put a teabag and water in a jar and let it sit in the refrigerator for a while - doesn’t get any healthier and more refreshing than that. There is no ceremony involved for me though, it’s simply a drink.
The book is in the public domain by the way, so it’s available online for free.