(JTA) — A new mikvah was dedicated in Tokyo four years after the Jewish ritual bath there ceased operation.
The mikvah, which was dedicated last week, was planned and funds were raised by Chabad-Lubavitch of Tokyo.
For the past four years, many Jewish residents of Tokyo have been traveling 325 miles to Kobe, the only other city in Japan with a Jewish community, to use its mikvah, according to Chabad.org.
Most of Japan’s 2,000 Jewish residents live in the Tokyo area, with thousands more visiting the city on business or as tourists each year, Chabad.org said.
Rabbi Mendi and Chana Sudakevich, co-directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Tokyo, moved to Tokyo from Israel in 2000.
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