Japan closes 638 Congregations!!!!! Why???

by Witness 007 67 Replies latest watchtower scandals

• 

  NewYork44M

  Year	Publishers		Congregations		pub/cong
  1998	222,912		3,802		59
  2004	217,555		3,164		69
  Difference	5,357		638		-10

  The average publishers per congregation does not seem to far out of line. It is possible that closing congregations is associated with a lack of qualified men to serve as elders.
• 

  lawrence

  Maybe it's all about the money! They got the brothers to donate the $$$ for the halls, and then they sold them off to send Ted and his bozos on free luxury jaunts here, there, and nowhere.
• 

  fedorE

  When i think of Japan I think about the high rate of suicide there. Being in a cult is reason for more depression and just maybe its a contributing factor.
• 

  Jim_TX

  "Do you have any theories?"

  Yup. I have a theory. They are big into education over there. I mean college education.

  So - even if the older parents swallowed the nonsense that the WTBTS is dishing out - their kids who go to college learn to think for themselves, and see what a load of *** the religion is.

  Regards,

  Jim TX

  P.S. too bad the number closed isn't '666'. heh heh heh
• 

  Gill

  Good for the Japanese!

  If only the British could be so bright!!
• 

  JK666

  Information and education!

  I don't think that the Japanese will deviate far from what is socially acceptable to their culture. These are both highly valued, and therefore not accepatble to outlaw college and the Internet.

  JK
• 

  greendawn

  They probably merged together a large number of congregations because the reduction by 3000 publishers doesn't obviously justify the drop of Japanese congos by 638.
  
  Talking of Japanese internet they are well ahead of Europe or the USA for them the standard speed is 50Mb, that is what costs around $40-45 per month.
• 

  Wordly Andre

  HA HA HA CLAM THATS WHAT POPPED IN MY HEAD!!!!!!!
• 

  R.F.

  I remember when the Japanese JWs used to be so idolized here in the U.S. No wonder that has changed.
• 

  seattleniceguy

  I'd guess a combination of two things:

  • Lack of men
    Japanese congregations are even more out-of-balance than the rest of the world when it comes to the ratio of men to women. This is probably because Japanese office workers are still expected to put in long hours and go out after work, making it difficult to return in time to get to meetings. As a result, men whose stay-at-home wives are converted, are less likely to take the bait and convert themselves simply because they don't have time. This has the effect of making it difficult for congregations to split. When I lived there, there was a spate of congregational merges. I didn't think about it then, but if you're in a congregation with only two elders (the situation with mine at the time) it only takes one of those guys to leave to force a merge. Put this way, the elders in Japan have enormous power to force change.
    
    (Incidentally, I titled this bullet point "lack of men," not "brothers," because it makes the inherent sexism more apparent. It seems a bit satisfying that the Watchtower's absurdly outdated sexism could ultimately contribute to its demise.)
  • Cult backlash
    Since the Aum Shinri Kyo subway attack in 1995, there has been a big backlash against cultlike groups in Japan. There has been a slow but steady decline since that time. If we assume that a respresentative part of the decline came from elders and ministerial servants waking up and leaving, you can see from the above point how a decline of 5000 members could have a big effect on the number of congregations.

  SNG