Koriyama

The city of Koriyama is the center of transportation in Fukushima Prefecture. It is located where highways from the east and west as well as north and south converge, making it a “meeting spot” for people traveling from all over northeastern Japan. This is a city of 340,000 people in Fukushima Prefecture; yet, it has a very rural world view. The pace of life is much slower than the large metro areas. More families have three generations in one household than metro areas, although more young people are leaving to go to Tokyo and other larger cities go school and find work.

Located within the fifty-mile safety radius of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, it was affected in a major way as evacuees from within the 30 kilometer radius of the plant fled their homes on March 11, 2011 after the earthquake and tsunami struck, looking for places to stay.

It is suffering serious population drain as young families leave for “safer” places in west Japan. Some wives leave with the children while the husband stays to work. Families are under much stress as relatives move in from the disaster area and need support not only emotionally but also financially.

Beautiful mountains and rural farmland surround the city and the evidence of the Creator God’s handiwork is everywhere, yet people go about their business without any thought of Him. Recent disasters have momentarily awakened some to a desire to know God, yet, most have not had a chance to hear the gospel message.

Prayer Starters:

•   Pray Luke 10:2b for this city. Ask God to send laborers to pray, to share the gospel and to reap a harvest of souls in the core city in Fukushima Prefecture.
•   Pray for those who are anxious about the effects of radiation on their children. Ask God to reveal to them the hope for the future they can have in Him.
•   Pray that Koriyama will be a “meeting place”, a place to meet Jesus. And pray they would then take the good news north, south, east and west, all across Japan and introduce others to Jesus.