A SURPRISE GIFT FOR JAPAN

AT a meeting held in Nagoya, Japan,on April 28th, 2013, Anthony Morris of the Governing Body surprised the audience with a thrilling announcement-the release of a new publication in Japanese entitled The Bible-The Gospel According to Matthew.  The over 210,000 present in person or via Webcast responded with prolonged applause. 

Reprinted from the New World Translation in Japanese, this 128-page edition of Matthew's Gospel is unique. Brother Morris explained that it was designed "to meet the needs of the Japanese field." What features does this Bible book have? Why was it prepared? And how has it been received? 

WHAT FEATURES DOES IT HAVE? 

The format of Matthew was a surprise to the audience. Japanese characters can be set vertically or horizontally, and quite a few printed items-including our recent publications-have been set horizontally. However, the text in this new publication is set vertically, using a layout style popular in Japanese newspapers and literary works. Many Japanese readers consider this to be an easy-to-read style. Additionally, the page headings were moved into the text as subheadings so that the readers can easily see the main points. 

 The brothers and sisters in Japan promptly took advantage of the features of Matthew.  "I have read the book of Matthew many times before," said a sister in her 80's,  "but the vertical style  and the subheadings helped me to understand the Sermon on the Mount more fully." One young sister wrote:  "I read through Matthew in one sitting. I am used to the horizontal style, but many Japanese people prefer the vertical composition." 

Next time: A SURPRISE GIFT FOR JAPAN - DESIGNED FOR THE JAPANESE FIELD

From the Watchtower magazine, 2015