New and Updates - The Miyashita Family - Church Planting Missionaries

Haneda airport to launch facial recognition gates for Japanese nationals

The Justice Ministry has unveiled unmanned facial recognition gates that will be introduced at Haneda airport on Wednesday to speed up immigration procedures for Japanese citizens. The system can judge whether passport photos match images of travelers taken by cameras at the gates in about 10 seconds, the ministry said Friday. The system will kick […]

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Weekly Update (10/10/2017)

Weekly Updates / James Miyashita

What a whirlwind of a week it has been! Last week, had the opportunity to be at 6 different churches in 5 days (Sunday-Thursday) including a night for a missions conference just north of Cincinnati. Then, we had the chance to be with two different churches in TN this past Sunday. We also heard that two

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The 4-month process of buying a gun in Japan

Interesting Things / James Miyashita

It was fall in Tokyo, and Saki Arai needed a gun. Saki manages the Bistro Hibino and wanted to hunt wild game for her farm-to-table restaurant. If Saki lived in, say, Tulsa, instead of Tokyo, getting a gun would have been almost as simple as buying a gallon of milk. She would visit one of

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Weekly Update (10/3/2017)

Weekly Updates / James Miyashita

After our meetings in Georgia on Sunday, we have had the opportunity to be at a missions conference in Tennessee both yesterday and today. Before we head to a missions conference in Ohio on Thursday, we are also scheduled to present at another church in TN on Wednesday. We greatly appreciate your prayers for our

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Twitter trials 280 characters, but its success in Japan is more than a character difference

From the News, Interesting Things / James Miyashita

Twitter has rolled out a limited trial of 280 characters for some of its users. In announcing the trial, Twitter specifically noted that most Japanese tweets had 15 characters while most English tweets had 34 characters. They also noted that only 0.4% of Japanese tweets hit the 140-character limit whereas 9% of English tweets do. Ostensibly

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October 2017 Prayer Letter

Prayer Letter / James Miyashita

As we enter the last quarter of 2017, we are excited to report to you that we now have over a quarter of our needed support to go back to Japan! In September, we had the opportunity to be with 15 different churches, including 4 different missions conferences in GA, MS, NC, and SC. From

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Weekly Update (9/26/2017)

Weekly Updates / James Miyashita

Thank you for your continued prayers as we travel. On Wednesday, we were in Alabama for a meeting before closing up our two-week stretch of missions conferences and meetings. This past Sunday, we had the opportunity to be with two different churches – one in North Georgia, and the other in Tennessee. This past week, we

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Japan and the industrial boom of 1917

Interesting Things, Japanese Culture / James Miyashita

From Mitsubishi Motors to Kikkoman – over a thousand Japanese firms are celebrating their hundredth birthday in 2017. The development reveals much about Japan’s history and economic base. Martin Fritz reports from Tokyo. What do Japanese companies such as camera maker Nikon, auto manufacturers Mitsubishi Motors and Subaru, sports equipment maker Mikasa and dairy product

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Weekly Update (9/19/17)

Weekly Updates / James Miyashita

This past week was one full of travels! On Monday and Tuesday, we were in Greenville, SC. Then, on Wednesday, we were just north of Memphis, TN, and from there we traveled on to a missions conference in Mississippi which we were at from Thursday to Saturday. On Sunday, we had the opportunity to be

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Coca-Cola Has Released A Coffee Drink In Japan

Interesting Things / James Miyashita

Think your morning coffee lacks a particular flavor? Those in the Japan have the opportunity to try Coca-Cola‘s latest creation: Coca-Cola Coffee Plus.The Japan-exclusive beverage blends together coffee and Coca-Cola in one convenient 190ml can. The contents of the drink contain 50% more caffeine than the average coke, but with half the calories. The end

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