How pastor Yoichi Fujiyabu works to help people choose life in Christ

Shirahama, Japan, is known for its beautiful beaches, hot springs, and amazing views. However, for many, it’s become a popular destination for a far more tragic reason. Standing some two hundred feet above the ocean, Shirahama’s Sandanbeki Cliff—also known as “Suicide Cliff”—has become one of the nation’s most frequented locations for those looking to end their life.

Yet, as Kazusa Okaya describes in an excellent article on Yoichi Fujiyabu, the pastor of Shirahama Baptist Christ Church, God’s people have taken up the challenge to change that reality.

Fujiyabu’s ministry—the Shirahama Rescue Network (SRN)—is a nonprofit organization operating out of his church that provides an alternative to those who cannot see a future beyond the cliffs. Over the last three decades, he has stopped more than 1,100 people from killing themselves, but SRN doesn’t stop at preventing death.

Through a variety of SRN’s local businesses, a dormitory for those who need a place to stay, and partnerships with the local government, they work to help people rebuild their lives while introducing them to Jesus along the way.

That last part is particularly important and, in a country where less than 1 percent of the population is Christian, is perhaps the most unique aspect of their ministry. It also makes the hope and purpose found only in Christ the perfect antidote to the shame and meaninglessness that drives so many to the cliffs.

A tragic reality

While there are a number of reasons why suicide has become such an epidemic in Japan—long work hours, increased isolation, pressure in school and at the office, to name a few—shame is perhaps the most powerful motivator. As Okaya notes, “Japanese culture implies that people should avoid becoming a meiwaku, or a burden to others. . . . Such stigma can drive some people to want to vanish from society altogether.”

And Suicide Cliff is not the only location desperate people choose.

The Aokigahara forest—also known as the Sea of Trees—at the base of Mount Fuji carries a similar ignominy as the Sandanbeki Cliffs. Located roughly two hours from Tokyo, the government has been forced to place a sign at the entrance reminding visitors that “life is a precious gift” and encouraging them not to “suffer alone.”

Like the cliffs, people travel to the forest with the belief that they will be able to die without being noticed. However, others argue that they want to “share the same place with others and belong to the same group.” It turns out that even people who want to die alone don’t want to feel alone, and there’s something terribly tragic about that reality.

Never give up on God

When I was in college, I was fortunate enough to go on a mission trip to Japan one Spring Break. We were only there for a week, and I won’t pretend that my experiences over that short period of time nearly twenty years ago are normative for the country today. However, reading about Fujiyabu’s ministry and the heartbreaking reason it exists brought back many of those memories.

I remember when our train was delayed because someone killed themselves by jumping in front of it. That happens at least once a day in Tokyo, and even more often during the most stressful parts of the year.

I also remember standing on a crowded street corner asking people if they’d like to practice their English as a group of men attempted to convince young women walking down the street to work for their pornography company. While shame is perhaps the most common cause of suicide in Japan, sexual exploitation and abuse are high up the list as well, often contributing to that inescapable feeling of disgrace.

Yet, I also remember watching a guy in our group convince one of those men on the street corner to meet him at a nearby coffee shop, where he was able to share the gospel with him.

I don’t know if he ever trusted his life to Christ or left that line of work, but it has served as a remarkable reminder for nearly two decades that we can never give up on God’s ability to meet people where they are and call them to something more.

And, strangely enough, he often chooses to use us to play a key role in that transformation.

The gift of community

In “What does the Bible say about suicide?” Dr. Jim Denison notes that helping people find a sense of community is one of the best ways to fight back against the negative experiences that drive so many to kill themselves. As we discussed earlier, most people who want to die alone don’t want to feel alone, and every one of us can play a role in helping others understand that they are not alone.

As the author of Hebrews describes, one of our chief callings as Christians is to “stir one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24–25).

However, implicit within that command is the idea that this kind of community won’t always come naturally to us. If it did, then the Holy Spirit wouldn’t have had to inspire the author to include the admonition in the pages of Scripture. We’d just do it.

Now, there are circumstances where simply reaching out to people or offering them a sense of community will not be enough to stop them from taking their own lives. As Fujiyabu describes, “You cannot make that ultimate decision for them.”

Sometimes, the best thing we can do is encourage people who are hurting to seek help from those who are far better equipped to handle it. In America, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a potentially helpful place to start. But, even beyond that, ministries like Stay Here offer free training to help you spot the warning signs and know how to respond.

The privilege of partnering with God

None of that is possible, though, unless you decide that you’re willing to help. That doesn’t have to mean taking emergency calls at all hours of the night like Fujiyabu and his team, but it may mean taking a friend’s call when they reach out. It doesn’t have to mean finding a bed for them to stay the night like the SRN, but it may mean offering your couch or a meal to go along with an open ear.

In short, we can never force someone to choose life, but we can work to render that a much easier choice to make. And even if the people the Lord has brought into your life have never considered suicide—praise God if that is the case—helping to foster this sense of community is still an essential part of Christ’s calling for each of us.

So, where do you need that community today? And is there someone God has placed on your heart while you read this article whom you need to reach out to today? If so, don’t wait.

As difficult as people can be, it’s a privilege to partner with the Lord in acting as his hands and feet to a world in desperate need of his help.

Who is he calling you to help today?

Quote of the day:

“God specializes in giving people a fresh start.” —Rick Warren

Our latest website resources:

• How you can support kids and families in crisis in your community
• Why can’t Congress pass a budget?
• Embracing the wonder after Forrest Frank’s miraculous healing
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Denison Forum

As Dr. Jim Denison described in yesterday’s Daily Article, Congress has until the end of today to fund the government, or at least parts of it will shut down starting tomorrow. If it feels like we’ve been here before, well, you’re not wrong. Congress found itself in essentially the same situation six months ago when it kicked the can down the road to today.

That crisis was averted after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer gathered just enough support from his party to help pass the Republican-led continuing resolution (CR), which was supposed to buy leaders from both parties enough time to pass a new budget. That didn’t happen, and if the rhetoric coming out of yesterday’s meeting with President Trump is any indication, Democrats are unlikely to yield again.

But while party divisions continue to dominate the narrative as both sides attempt to shift the blame across the aisle, the simple fact is that neither party has been willing to do what’s necessary to actually pass a budget.

In fact, Congress has only passed all the required appropriations measures to fund the government for a given year four times since 1977, with the most recent instance occurring nearly thirty years ago. And even back in 1996, it took a six-bill omnibus package—a bill that funds multiple areas of the government at once—to get them over the finish line in time.

That’s not how this is supposed to work.

A flawed approach to governance

When Congress adopted the current format in 1974, the idea was to split government funding into multiple bills, under the theory that it would be easier to find common ground when focusing on one area rather than on the budget as a whole. As such, under the current arrangement, the House and Senate are charged with passing twelve spending bills a year—one for each pair of the House and Senate appropriations committees.

Instead, Congress has come to rely on either grouping them through omnibus bills or passing CRs to extend the current funding levels while they continue to negotiate an actual budget. Given that 147 of the 149 appropriations bills signed into law since 2012 were passed through an omnibus bill, this flawed approach to governance has unfortunately become the new normal.

However, the latest saga feels different in a way that could have massive implications for the future of our government.

Why Trump doesn’t seem to fear a shutdown

The last time Congress faced the prospect of a shutdown, neither side appeared overly eager to see large parts of the government shuttered. However, in the six months since, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provided alternative sources of funding for large parts of the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security—two areas of government that Republicans are typically most concerned about.

In addition, the Office of Management and Budget sent a memo throughout its agency instructing division leaders to “use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities (PPAs)” that meet three criteria:

1. They are without discretionary funding once the shutdown begins
2. They are not funded by alternative measures like the One Big Beautiful Bill
3. They are not “consistent with the President’s priorities.”

Given that the Trump administration is primarily responsible for determining which workers in the executive branch are essential, the prevailing belief is that Trump could use the shutdown as a means of reducing employment and penalizing parts of the government that his administration deems either superfluous or standing in the way of its agenda.

The prospect of turning that power over to Trump was enough to motivate Schumer and other democrats to vote with Republicans six months ago, and we should know by the end of the day if the same will be true this time. However, it seems unlikely, and the government they’re left with once the shutdown ends could look quite a bit different as a result.

A sin we all commit

One of the primary flaws in our current political system is the degree to which Americans on both sides are tempted to overlook abuses of power when they’re used to advance their preferred agenda. Assigning blame for the current budget situation to Republicans or Democrats is pointless because, on a basic level, both parties govern the same. It may look different based on which priorities they’re pushing, but the path they take to get there has become so well-worn over the last few decades that it’s difficult to see either side straying from it anytime soon.

However, the wrong choice doesn’t become less wrong just because someone else made it first.

Every parent of more than one child has had the delightful experience of breaking up a fight in which one kid used the “she started it” or “he hit me first” excuse to explain away their own bad behavior. That same rationale is no less immature or sinful when utilized by our nation’s leaders than when it comes from the mouth of a child.

But, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we probably don’t have to think all that far back to remember a time when we made the same mistake.

Scripture is clear that another person’s bad choices will never justify our own (2 Corinthians 5:10), and a fundamental part of genuine repentance is owning up to your sin. “I’m sorry, but…” is not the sign of a truly penitent heart, and it’s an insult to God to think he won’t know the difference.

So, are there any areas in your life where you’re tempted to try to blame others for your own mistakes? Are there any sins for which you’ve yet to fully seek God’s forgiveness?

While it can be tempting—and justified—to complain about the state of our politics today, know that Christ cares far more about the state of your heart and the degree to which it is aligned with his own.

Let’s start there.

Quote of the day:

“No constitution for self-government can save a people from voluntarily ending their own reign. ‘A republic, if you can keep it’ wasn’t just a foreboding turn of phrase—it was a statement of historical literacy.” —Sarah Isgur

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Denison Forum