Friends,

I hope you're all well--this is a brief note to let you all know that I (Dwight) have arrived back in Japan and things are going pretty well.  I've been traveling around doing a Japanese custom called, "aisatsu" which is the practice, upon returning from a trip, of visiting folks who have been kind to you in the past (usually your superiors) and giving them a little gift.  I've been enjoying the cherry blossoms, too, which are in full bloom all around the Tokyo Bay area, and have already been treated to a nice evening of soaking in a nearby hot springs with the pastor of the Kanto Gakuin Church, Rev. Kazunori Matsuda.

School starts tomorrow, so continue to pray for me as I prepare for classes and start getting to know the teachers in the 3 departments I'm working in this year.  I'll have three classes in English and two in Christianity.

I did want to pass some news on as a matter of prayer.  As most of you know, Kari and the kids are staying in the US until the beginning of May so that Adam and Sarah can finish their end-of-the-year testing.  Earlier this week, while Kari and the kids were traveling on spring break, our rental house in Delaware, OH was broken into.  Unfortunately, whoever broke into the house took a DVD player, some other electronic devices, and most tragically, our laptop.  So Kari is now without that means of keeping in touch with me (or most of you for that matter).  I guess the burglar went so far as to break into Sarah's piggy bank and take the $5 that she had saved up in there!  Unbelievable.

In all, it sounds as if around $2,500 worth of items were taken and the police, at this point, don't have any leads.  I imagine that once the burglars try to use the laptop and find everything written in Japanese, that item will most likely end up in a garbage can somewhere in the Ohio midlands...

Anyway, pray for Kari, Adam, Sarah and Isaiah, that they would have peace about being in the house for the remainder of the time they're in the US.  Kari does seem to be okay, but please remember them in your prayers.

If you want to read some more encouraging news, please peruse the following article forwarded to me from Rev. Dan Taylor at ABC/Ohio.  The attitudes of Japanese youth mentioned in this article don't surprise me--the last paragraph, in fact, rings incredibly true to my own experience with students--but the statistics did surprise me!

Grace & Peace,

Dwight Davidson

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Gallup Poll of Japan Finds Christianity on the Upswing

Posted on: 03/29/2006

LOS ANGELES -- A poll conducted by the Gallup Organization has yielded some surprising statistics on Japanese attitudes toward religion, morality and spirituality. Among the findings from one of the most extensive surveys of the country ever taken was a Christian population of 6%, a number much higher than reported in previous surveys. Researchers were also surprised by high numbers of teens who claimed the Christian faith, while the traditionally dominant religions, Buddhism and Shintoism -- though still claimed by many adults -- suffered declines among teenagers. Some respondents answered that they belonged to more than one religion.

Of the 30% of adults surveyed who claimed to have a religion, 75% considered themselves Buddhists, 19% Shintoists, while 12% considered themselves to be Christians. Researchers were especially surprised at the large number of Japanese youth who claimed the Christian faith. Of the 20% who professed to have a religion, 60% called themselves Buddhists, 36% Christians and followers of the traditionally dominant Japanese religion, Shinto.

Calling the numbers "stunning," George Gallup Jr. who assisted with the poll, noted of teenagers: "These projections mean that seven percent of the total teenage population say they're Christians." The poll was conducted in association with American Trademark Research and MJM Group in 2001 for use in a documentary that's expected to be released later this year.

"According to the social scientists in Japan, this was the single largest study ever attempted," says Bill McKay, one of the documentary's producers and project research director. "The entire study examined preteens, teens, young adults, adults and seniors." "In my 50 years of polling, there has been no study that I would consider as important as this one, because it provides insight into a fascinating culture," adds Gallup.

"When they saw the design of the questionnaire, Japanese experts argued that the Japanese would never answer the socially delicate and/or the highly personal questions," observed McKay. "However, it was our professional hunch that the Japanese were ready to talk -- and when they did, they told us more than we had asked for. The data is the most revealing look behind the face of Japan and shatters many WWII myths of the Japanese culture." The poll also delved into popular attitudes toward a variety of subjects related to morality, spirituality and general views about life.

"Most Japanese, judging by their responses to scales on happiness, are neither 'very happy,' nor 'very unhappy,' noted Gallup. "There's a degree of fatalism in their somber mood. Teen's perspectives on life tend to a sense of nihilism to an alarming degree. A note of hopelessness is found in the responses to a number of questions. And there's little evidence of eternal hope, although a considerable number do believe in some form of life afterlife."

On matters of morality, Gallup noted a strong relativistic streak: "Like much of the rest of the world, the Japanese tend to take relativistic views on ethical matters. There is little belief in 'absolutes,' and this is true across the all-generational groups. In the 'hierarchy of crimes,' those related to economic and family matters far outweigh those related to sexual activity."

Researchers were also surprised by teen attitudes which reflected an especially pessimistic outlook on life. While 22% of U.S. teens in previous Gallup surveys often wondered why they existed, the number for Japanese teens was 85%. Similarly, while 76% of U.S. teens always see a reason for their being on Earth, only 13% of Japanese teens agreed with the statement. A surprisingly high 11% of Japanese teens wished they had never been born, a figure that comes in at 3% for U.S. teens.