(Aug. 19, 2014 - by Nate Dell)  As Kazuo Ozaki marks the milestone of 50 years of uninterrupted broadcasting in Japanese, his faithful voice still speaks loud and clear.

Half a century ago, Kazuo’s church in Japan sent him, along with his wife, Hisako, and 1-year-old son, Michio, to be the first radio missionaries from that nation. Their initial program aired via shortwave from Reach Beyond’s Radio Station HCJB in Ecuador on May 1, 1964.

“[That was] was a historical day for Japanese churches,” Kazuo wrote. “I was 30 years old and our first son was just born. Since then, 50 years have passed. So many things have changed—except our unfinished task.”

Japanese broadcasting rode the wave of long-distance listening in the late 1970s and early 1980s when up to 61,000 listener letters arrived per year, all answered by Kazuo and Hisako who died of cancer in 2006.

Kazuo notes that many listeners who first tuned in to Japanese broadcasts as teenagers back then are now mostly past their 50s. Kazuo calls them a “very special group of people” who have continued to listen to shortwave—their principal hobby—despite ongoing changes in communications technology.

But to say all listeners to Kazuo’s programs are in that older demographic would not be true. The Japanese program’s office in the Yodobashi Church in Tokyo receives letters from younger listeners as well.

One high school student wrote to marvel at the longtime listeners from shortwave’s heyday interviewed on one of Kazuo’s shortwave programs, now aired from Reach Beyond’s international broadcast facility in Kununurra, Australia. “Too bad I was too young to be in the boom,” he stated. “But I’m happy that it’s not too late to start listening to shortwave and join the listeners’ club.”

Kazuo’s broadcasts follow a simple formula each week. Each Saturday he covers current events and interviews listeners for a full 30 minutes. On Sunday he produces a program of Bible teaching designed for non-Christian listeners. Then once a month he prepares a “mailbag” program, sharing people’s letters and answering their questions. Kazuo says his basic thought is to “give what they want first and then give them what I want to give.”

The formula continues to work as evidenced by this year’s trip to Japan (May 27-July 17) when Kazuo was accompanied by two staff members from Reach Beyond-Australia, CEO Dale Stagg and Media Manager Derek Kickbush. Stagg said the number of letters received in response to the programs was “very encouraging to us.”

Kickbush describes Kazuo as a “delightful man. I can see why our Japanese listeners have grown to love him over many years. When I consider his age, I was amazed at his energy. He certainly shows a real love for his home country and its people.”

Indeed, when you spend any length of time listening to Kazuo, it’s easy to see his love for Christ and his desire to turn his listeners into churchgoers as well. Almost every year, as Kazuo visits Japan, he connects with various listeners and personally ushers them into churches, often for the first time in their lives.

While Kazuo’s work has withstood the test of time, he has no plans of retiring. He’s also well aware of the changes in technology and the modern lives of his listeners.

He writes, “In this post-modern high-tech society, people are becoming more talkative (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Now they enjoy giving out their own opinions and feelings freely through the Internet. Many people have also established their own broadcasting stations.”

From Kazuo’s home studio in Tucson, Ariz., where he continues to produce radio programs, Kazuo contemplates the terminology of “broadcasting” in a world of fast-changing communications technology.

“Broadcasting reminds me of the story in the New Testament when Peter obeyed Jesus by casting the [fish] net,” he said. “However, after the resurrection, Jesus said to Peter, ‘Feed my sheep.’ Somehow, I feel like I am doing this now.” And he has been for the last 50 years.

Source: Reach Beyond