A thought. The other day I was looking for a recipe for tempura? I found a note that it was introduced to Japan in the 16th C by the Portuguese. Hmm that's around the time many Portuguese jews were fleeing Portugal for safety in foreign parts which for me at least raised questions, is there any evidence of Jewish presence in Japan? So I did a couple of googles looking for a reference to the rabbi that visited Japan looking for a Jewish presence and was amazed to find many references to Jews in Japan. From a Japanese professor that showed similarities between some hebrew characters and similar japanese ones. To the ark carried in some religious festivals and the little box (philactery) worn on the head of some priests which is almost the same as that worn when putting on teffilin.For those interested watch this YT video for starters. 'The mystery of Jews in Japan' Were they Sefardic Jews escaping persecution in an often overlooked direction? For me at least, if I ever have another chance of visiting Japan I will be looking more closely for evidence of a jewish presence although I doubt I will see any mezuzahs on door posts.