I am loving learning about the 11 countries I’m going to visit, and I will be sharing with you a little about each country! I plan on putting out one blog post every week, talking about each of the countries, in the order that I will be going to them! My main source is the book, Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation, by Jason Mandryk, copyright 2010.
Japan is where I grew up until I was 11 years old!
Unfortunately, there are very few Christians in Japan. Some statistics say 2%, some say less than 1% Christian. Missionaries first reached Japan in the 1500’s, and the Church was growing exponentially. However, the government soon saw it as a threat, and outlawed Christianity. All Christians were forced to denounce their faith, or were martyred. This lasted from the early 1600s until 1871, when freedom of religion was introduced.
The Japanese government thought Christianity had been wiped out. But when missionaries started arriving in Japan, they discovered “hidden Christians”, whose ancestors had passed their faith to their children for over 200 years!
Now, Japan is very technologically advanced and secularized. The majority of Japanese follow the rituals of both Buddhism and Shintoism, simply to show respect and honor to their ancestors. The Japanese culture is very conformist-minded, and this is why so few dare to deviate from the religions of their ancestors. It is common for someone to be disowned by their family for becoming a Christian.
When I was in Japan, my dad was a pastor at Japanese churches. The average attendance was between 20-30 every Sunday. My parents knew many Christians in Japan, and said that Japanese Christians are very committed to their faith. They have to make a bigger step of faith, due to their culture.
The Japanese definitely have an awareness of Christianity, because of the long Christian history, but it is still considered a Western religion. Very few see a need for God in their lives. It is quite a tragedy that Japan is the largest unreached country that is completely open to missionaries.
