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 The Japan Lutheran Hour Tokyo Office Staff: (from left) Takashi Yuguchi, Michiko Ando, Satomi Nomura, and Hiroko Tazawa |
It was a fine and cool day when, after 6 months of construction, JLH was able to dedicate her new office in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. It is located near the Higashi Ikebukuro subway station, inside the Yamanote circle train line in Tokyo. The two-story office covers just 100 square meters including both the 1st and 2nd floor. It is the first time for the Tokyo office to have their own real estate and office space in all of their 48 years of ministry in Japan. The Japan Lutheran Hour started in 1951 as the first religious broadcasting sponsor in Japan, and shifted into multi-media in the beginning of the 1990s.
About 25 guests gathered for the dedication on the 1st floor at 11 AM November 30, 1998. Rev. Mamoru Saito, pastor of the Tokyo Lutheran Center Church, led the dedication service. Rev. Saito quoted Acts 18, 1-11, "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, " he also referred to the many people who made the construction of this new office possible and thanked God for His guidance and protection in the building process and His Love for all these people. After the service, Dr. Louis Nau, Asian Councilor of the Int'l LLL from St. Louis, thanked the participants for their prayers during the construction period. He also shared greetings to all from the St. Louis Int'l LLL staff, and praised the Lord for guiding the new office construction in safety and for His plan to send forth His ministry from this new office. Dr. Nau said through this office, JLH's ministry now has a new beginning. He saw this as a base through which LHM can carry out their ministry in Japan. He emphasized the need for the support and prayers of the Japanese churches in this new millennium.
Takashi Yuguchi, director of JLH, then thanked all of the guests for coming and celebrating with the JLH staff, and he shared a little about the hard work which was needed for the completion of the new office, and also thanked his staff who helped him in various situations.
The opening party took place on the 2nd floor immediately following the dedication. Many people with connections to JLH came to share in the festivities, from the world of architecture, lay and church leaders, an advertisement agency, the head of a social welfare organization, singers, and music performers, and former director Mike Harada, gathered to share their memories and enjoy a light lunch and conversation.
One of those present was Mr. Shinichi Takahashi, construction company head, who was in charge of the JLH office construction. When he was asked for a comment, he said, "I am not a Christian but I still remember the words which the pastor read at the ground breaking." On June 10 at the ground breaking ceremony, Rev. Saito read Hebrews 11:1-3. Mr. Takahashi remembered the words, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." At Sunday worship on December 6, Rev. Saito related what happened when he and Mr. Takahashi talked during the party. He said Mr. Takahashi began crying, saying that the recession which has hit many small construction companies in Japan has hit his company as well. He asked the pastor if the verses were true and if he could really believe what they said. Rev. Saito answered that, God words never betray the man who believes in Him. Even the JLH construction became a means to proclaim the Gopel to a secular company.
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Another surprising piece of news came from the Seminary: Dr. Junichiro Sako, former university president and one of the leading Christian authors in Japan, told Mrs. Yoriko Yuguchi, that he had recently read that JLH was moving. (Both are lecturers at the Lutheran College in Tokyo and happened to meet in the lecturers' room.) Dr. Sako mentioned that he had read this in the Asahi Shinbun newspaper. Since Yuguchi had not told this leading national newspaper that the office was moving, he was very surprised to hear that from his wife. The fact that this two-staff-member office attracted even the attention of a national newspaper has given some added confidence to both Yuguchi and his secretary Michiko Ando to continue to carry out their ministry. "Even though we are in a small office, I have tried to act big in this society. It is very timely that in the world today, many have accepted that small is not always bad, but that in fact in many cases it can cause work to function more smoothly, especially in the Internet age. We will try to do our best with this small staff using PCs and networking; we will try to be big workers in Japan, and in the world."
Many participants also said that through hearing the talks the participants gave, they were able to come to know more about JLH's role in communication and their wide fields of sharing the Gospel.
Yuguchi designed all of the rooms to be connected with a computer LAN network, and also allowed space for a small size studio to be built in the office, where an Internet radio ministry program will be produced after the equipment is purchased. 
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