Promoting life through music
According to a White Paper on Suicide Prevention published by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare in May, Japan ranks sixth highest for number of suicides among 90 countries and regions of the world. Suicide is the leading cause of death among youth in Japan, and the country has an alarmingly high suicide rate for a developed nation.
Fūka Yazaki, a gospel singer based in Gunma Prefecture, explains, “I got into music because I wanted to reduce the number of suicides in Gunma.” Yazaki herself struggled with suicidal thoughts from when she was in primary school, and she now wants to use her songs to share a message of hope with those suffering through the same thing. At her first live solo performance on May 12, at a concert hall in Takasaki, Gunma, 70% of the audience were non-Christians. Yazaki said, “What I like best is singing for God and showing people who I really am,” so the second half of the concert featured mainly gospel music.
Brought up in a Christian home, Yazaki didn’t question the existence of God, but wondered, “Why do I have to live in a world where there’s more sorrow than happiness? It’s too hard for me to fit in, and even though I know God, I don’t enjoy being alive, so isn’t it better to die?” Five people close to Yazaki have committed suicide, so, “Suicide was not a distant matter to me. I felt it could happen any time.”
Yazaki began playing the piano when she was 10, and at 15 she formed a band with some friends. At their school festival, they performed one of her original songs with the message that, “You were born to be loved.” A girl who listened to Yazaki’s song came to her in tears afterwards, saying, “It was great. Thank you.” But sadly the girl took her own life the year that Yazaki finished junior high school.
In her second year of employment, Yazaki suffered from depression. “Dying was all I could think about each day.” However, she got through that period by remembering the words of 1 Corinthians 10:13: “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear” (NIV). Although Yazaki struggled to believe in God while she was depressed, she nevertheless thought to herself, “If God is real, things will come out as he wants. I’ll manage, somehow, if he is with me.”
“I got through that time and recovered, so I feel like now I have to share my message of hope and survival.” She bought a keyboard and an amplifier and started singing in front of Takasaki Station. Her original songs were well received, and a passerby told her about other places she could perform, giving her the opportunity to start singing in restaurants and bars as well.
Yazaki began having her music played by the local FM radio station, and released her first CD only a year after her debut. She became a regular performer on local TV, and even ended up with her own radio program. She’s written more than 50 original songs covering a wide range of themes—from messages of hope for people contemplating suicide, to songs of lost love, humorous songs, and songs praising God. “I write various kinds of music so that my message reaches people who do not know God.”
Yazaki was 11 years old when, at a church camp, she had a vision of Jesus on the cross, and found herself among the crowd shouting “Crucify him!” “Then I realized that Jesus was crucified because of my sinfulness,” she said. “Back in those days, I was always quarreling with people, but I repented.” She wrote a song called Passion of the Christ‐Thank you about her experience coming to understand the meaning of the cross. Along with her desire to reduce the suicide rate, Yazaki hopes that people who listen to her music will take an interest in the Bible and church.
From Christian Shimbun, July 15, 2018, translated by Tomoko Kato