Understanding Japan’s Spiritual Landscape

Here are several pointers that attempt to explain this resistance against the gospel. It is important to note, however, that this list is not exhaustive and includes generalizations. Nevertheless, we hope it serves as a helpful starting point for your understanding about the nation and its spiritual landscape.

Huge on tradition, but not necessarily religion

• To most Japanese, religion holds more customary and practical significance rather than being driven by personal convictions.
• Many engage in rituals and practices from various faiths while remaining indifferent to the underlying doctrine of each religion.
• For example, a typical Japanese person may be brought to a Shinto shrine shortly after birth for a blessing ceremony, get married at a church-style wedding and be given a Buddhist funeral at death.
• This phenomenon is captured by the popular saying, “Born Shinto, marry Christian and die Buddhist.”

Few churches; small congregations

• There are about 8,000 Protestant churches in Japan, but many towns and cities have only one or no church.
• Many churches have memberships of fewer than 30 individuals, most of whom are elderly.
• Churches with congregations of 200 or more are considered megachurches.
• As small churches typically have limited resources, some pastors take on a second or third job in their free time to make ends meet.

Aging pastors

• Only about 10% of Japanese pastors are younger than 50.
• Many pastors are approaching retirement age with no successors.
• The number of churches without pastors is on the rise.
• If nothing is done about the situation, some estimates predict that about half of all Japanese churches will be without a pastor by 2030.

Christianity as a foreign concept

• The Japanese worldview does not acknowledge:
• A creator God.
• The concept of heaven or hell.
• The belief that there is only one true religion.

Crime and religion

• Recent tragic events tied to new religious movements have contributed to a general reluctance to identify with religion of any form.
• Such incidents include:
  • The Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway by members of the Aum Shinrikyo movement.
  • The assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by an individual who believed Abe had ties to the Unification Church.

Culture of conformity

• Japanese society places great emphasis on group orientation and uniformity.
• Standing out from the crowd is typically frowned upon and sometimes viewed as a threat to harmony.
• When a Japanese person decides to follow Christ, there is often a fear of possible disapproval and isolation, as doing so usually means deviating from family beliefs and practices.