[Eva]

I don't think that it is irrelevant at all. I have a friend whose daughter is going into kidney failure due to a hereditary condition that is found only in certain types of Jews from Germany, Africa and Japan. It turns out that the paternal grandmother who emigrated from Germany must have been Jewish, but raised Catholic. One of the grandchildren also has the condition which is related to salt regulation in the body. I am very interested in Jewish heredity for this reason.

[Asher]

"certain types of Jews from Germany, Africa and Japan."

Germany, of course, but the great majority of African Jews, and we're talking mainly South Africa, were mostly immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe, with a particular emphasis on Lithuania. There are not and never has been a Jewish community in Japan, not one worthy of the name anyhow. This makes a very interesting comparison with China with its ancient Jewish community. See links below:

The Jews of China

http://www.kashrus.org/asian/china.html

http://www.haruth.com/JewsChina.html

THE JEWS OF JAPAN

http://www.kashrus.org/asian/japan.html