Japan: Christians More than Expected | 6th September 2010

Estimates state about one percent of Japan’s population is Christian and experts are struggling to understand why there is apparently so little advance for the Gospel. Dr. Minoru Okuyama, director of the Missionary Training Centre in Japan says, “It is the Japanese mentality itself that is hindering…” “Japanese people value human relationships more than truth and principle. They are afraid of disturbing human relationships,” said Okuyama, who previously was Buddhist and A Shintoist.”For the Japanese, one of the most important things is harmony; in Japanese ‘Wa.’”

Despite these difficulties, Okuyama said missionaries must not give up. He noted the history of people groups where, for hundreds of years, it seemed like evangelism was in vain. But suddenly countless people came to Christ. “The seed of the Gospel never falls to the ground in vain,” stated Okuyama.

In light of the common assumption that 80% of Japanese teens don’t claim any religion at all, Japan would seem to be a “post-Buddhist- Shintoist” culture in much the same way that large numbers of Europeans are “post-Christian”. In that sort of environment new, evangelistic faiths can grow in Japan, apparently by conversion rather than birth. This may explain the success of churches like Calvary Chapel in Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo, with a congregation of nearly 1,300.