Country: Japan
| Photo | People Group ▲ | Population this Country |
Global Population |
Indigenous | Primary Language | Primary Religion | Progress Scale |
% Christian Adherent |
% Evangelical | Est. Workers Needed * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ainu (Japan) | 13,000 | 13,000 | ● | Ainu | Ethnic Religions | 1 ● | 1.00 % | 0.50 % | 1 |
|
Amami-Oshima, Northern | 9,500 | 9,500 | ● | Amami-Oshima, Northern | Buddhism | 1 ● | 1.00 % | 0.45 % | 1 |
|
Amami-Oshima, Southern | 1,700 | 1,700 | ● | Amami-Oshima, Southern | Buddhism | 1 ● | 3.00 % | 0.50 % | 1 |
|
Americans, U.S. | 49,000 | 196,885,000 | English | Christianity | 5 ● | 78.00 % | 28.00 % | -1 - | |
|
British | 22,000 | 53,969,000 | English | Christianity | 4 ● | 65.00 % | 8.00 % | -1 - | |
|
Burakumin | 865,000 | 865,000 | ● | Japanese | Buddhism | 1 ● | 0.50 % | 0.20 % | 17 |
|
Deaf | 247,000 | 49,661,000 | ● | Japanese Sign Language | Buddhism | 1 ● | 1.54 % | -1 | 5 |
|
Eurasian | 123,000 | 1,743,000 | ● | Japanese | Buddhism | 1 ● | 5.00 % | 1.50 % | 2 |
|
Filipino, Tagalog | 487,000 | 40,521,000 | Tagalog | Christianity | 5 ● | 93.00 % | 12.00 % | -1 - | |
|
French | 6,100 | 50,459,000 | French | Christianity | 3 ● | 62.00 % | 1.00 % | -1 - | |
|
Han Chinese, Cantonese | 35,000 | 79,810,000 | Chinese, Yue | Ethnic Religions | 4 ● | 10.00 % | 3.00 % | -1 - | |
|
Han Chinese, Mandarin | 535,000 | 931,685,000 | Chinese, Mandarin | Non-Religious | 4 ● | 7.00 % | 5.70 % | -1 - | |
|
Han Chinese, Min Nan | 73,000 | 44,045,000 | Chinese, Min Nan | Ethnic Religions | 4 ● | 10.00 % | 5.00 % | -1 - | |
|
Han Chinese, Wu | 6,800 | 81,722,000 | Chinese, Wu | Ethnic Religions | 4 ● | 10.00 % | 5.00 % | -1 - | |
|
Japanese | 117,840,000 | 119,869,000 | ● | Japanese | Buddhism | 1 ● | 1.20 % | 0.30 % | 2,357 |
|
Japanese, Brazilian | 259,000 | 259,000 | Portuguese | Christianity | 5 ● | 95.00 % | 22.00 % | -1 - | |
|
Jewish, English-speaking | 2,000 | 5,401,000 | English | Ethnic Religions | 1 ● | 3.00 % | 2.00 % | 1 | |
|
Judeo-Japanese | 49,000 | 49,000 | ● | Japanese | Ethnic Religions | 1 ● | 1.00 % | 0.80 % | 1 |
|
Kikai | 12,000 | 12,000 | ● | Kikai | Buddhism | 1 ● | 3.00 % | 0.72 % | 1 |
|
Korean | 973,000 | 81,888,000 | Korean | Christianity | 5 ● | 31.00 % | 16.00 % | -1 - | |
|
Kunigami | 4,800 | 4,800 | ● | Kunigami | Buddhism | 1 ● | 2.00 % | 1.00 % | 1 |
|
Malay | 9,600 | 18,383,000 | Malay | Islam | 1 ● | 0.60 % | 0.20 % | 1 | |
|
Miyako, Ryukyuan | 64,000 | 64,000 | ● | Miyako | Buddhism | 1 ● | 3.00 % | 0.51 % | 1 |
|
Mongol, Khalka | 4,400 | 2,551,000 | Mongolian, Halh | Ethnic Religions | 1 ● | 1.00 % | 0.50 % | 1 | |
|
|
Oki-No-Erabu | 3,100 | 3,100 | ● | Oki-No-Erabu | Buddhism | 1 ● | 3.00 % | 0.50 % | 1 |
|
Okinawan, Ryukyuan | 1,153,000 | 1,160,000 | ● | Okinawan, Central | Ethnic Religions | 1 ● | 2.00 % | 0.15 % | 23 |
|
Persian | 49,000 | 46,297,000 | Persian, Iranian | Islam | 1 ● | 0.50 % | 0.20 % | 1 | |
|
Peruvian | 105,000 | 26,208,000 | Spanish | Christianity | 5 ● | 95.00 % | 14.00 % | -1 - | |
|
Punjabi | 68,000 | 2,161,000 | Punjabi, Eastern | Islam | 1 ● | 1.50 % | 0.00 % | 1 | |
|
South Asian, Bengali-speaking | 67,000 | 1,884,000 | Bengali | Islam | 1 ● | 1.00 % | 0.20 % | 1 | |
|
Thai | 9,600 | 24,237,000 | Thai | Buddhism | 1 ● | 1.00 % | 0.50 % | 1 | |
|
Toku-No-Shima | 4,900 | 4,900 | ● | Toku-No-Shima | Buddhism | 1 ● | 2.00 % | 0.55 % | 1 |
|
Turk | 4,800 | 67,115,000 | Turkish | Islam | 0 ☀ | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 1 | |
|
Uyghur | 1,000 | 12,315,000 | Uyghur | Islam | 0 ☀ | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 1 | |
|
Vietnamese | 13,000 | 86,363,000 | Vietnamese | Buddhism | 2 ● | 10.00 % | 1.80 % | -1 - | |
|
Yaeyama | 45,000 | 45,000 | ● | Yaeyama | Buddhism | 1 ● | 3.00 % | 0.38 % | 1 |
|
Yonaguni | 800 | 800 | ● | Yonaguni | Buddhism | 1 ● | 1.00 % | 0.00 % | 1 |
|
Yoron | 900 | 900 | ● | Yoron | Buddhism | 1 ● | 1.00 % | 0.00 % | 1 |
| Totals: 38 | 123,218,000 | 26 ● | 2.16 % | 0.57 % | 2,425 | |||||
| Unclassified / Other Individuals | 77,000 | |||||||||
| UN Country Population (2023) | 123,295,000 |
| Province ▲ | Estimated Population |
|---|---|
| Aichi | 7,300,000 |
| Akita | 998,000 |
| Aomori | 1,277,000 |
| Chiba | 6,071,000 |
| Ehime | 1,352,000 |
| Fukui | 768,000 |
| Fukuoka | 4,977,000 |
| Fukushima | 1,867,000 |
| Gifu | 1,983,000 |
| Gunma | 1,890,000 |
| Hiroshima | 2,775,000 |
| Hokkaido | 5,251,000 |
| Hyōgo | 5,401,000 |
| Ibaraki | 2,846,000 |
| Ishikawa | 1,126,000 |
| Iwate | 1,248,000 |
| Kagawa | 953,000 |
| Kagoshima | 1,608,000 |
| Kanagawa | 8,902,000 |
| Kochi | 710,000 |
| Kumamoto | 1,743,000 |
| Kyoto | 2,546,000 |
| Mie | 1,771,000 |
| Miyagi | 2,277,000 |
| Miyazaki | 1,077,000 |
| Nagano | 2,048,000 |
| Naoasaki | 1,344,000 |
| Nara | 1,331,000 |
| Niigata | 2,248,000 |
| Oita | 1,138,000 |
| Okayama | 1,875,000 |
| Okinawa | 1,399,000 |
| Osaka | 8,621,000 |
| Saga | 812,000 |
| Saitama | 7,082,000 |
| Shiga | 1,378,000 |
| Shimane | 677,000 |
| Shizuoka | 3,610,000 |
| Tochigi | 1,926,000 |
| Tokushima | 737,000 |
| Tokyo | 13,181,000 |
| Tottori | 560,000 |
| Toyama | 1,041,000 |
| Wakayama | 940,000 |
| Yamagata | 1,095,000 |
| Yamaguchi | 1,370,000 |
| Yamanashi | 814,000 |
| Provinces: 47 | 123,944,000 |
| UN Country Population | 123,295,000 |
 |
Japan prayer cards. All Unreached |
| Operation World |
| World Factbook |
| Religious Freedom Report |
| UN Human Development Report |
| Ethnologue Language Listing |
| National Bible Society |
| Language Map (Ethnologue) |
| Perry-Castaneda Map Collection |
| Language ▲ | Code | # Peoples w/ this Primary Language |
# Unreached w/ this Primary Language |
Scripture Status |
NT Text Online |
NT Audio Online |
Jesus Film Online |
Audio Recordings Online |
Gospel Tract Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ainu | ain | 1 | 1 | 4 New Testament | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Amami-Oshima, Northern | ryn | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Amami-Oshima, Southern | ams | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Bengali | ben | 1 | 1 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chinese, Mandarin | cmn | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chinese, Min Nan | nan | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 |
| Chinese, Wu | wuu | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | -1 | 1 | 1 | -1 |
| Chinese, Yue | yue | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 |
| English | eng | 3 | 1 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| French | fra | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Japanese | jpn | 4 | 4 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Japanese Sign Language | jsl | 1 | 1 | 3 Bible Portions | -1 | -1 | 1 | -1 | -1 |
| Kikai | kzg | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Korean | kor | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kunigami | xug | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Malay | zlm | 1 | 1 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Miyako | mvi | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Mongolian, Halh | khk | 1 | 1 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Oki-No-Erabu | okn | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Okinawan, Central | ryu | 1 | 1 | 3 Bible Portions | -1 | -1 | -1 | 1 | -1 |
| Persian, Iranian | pes | 1 | 1 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Portuguese | por | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Punjabi, Eastern | pan | 1 | 1 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Spanish | spa | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tagalog | tgl | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Thai | tha | 1 | 1 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Toku-No-Shima | tkn | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Turkish | tur | 1 | 1 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Uyghur | uig | 1 | 1 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 |
| Vietnamese | vie | 1 | 0 | 5 Complete Bible | -1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Yaeyama | rys | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Yonaguni | yoi | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Yoron | yox | 1 | 1 | 0 Unspecified | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Totals: | 33 | 38 | 26 | 0 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 16 |
- MissionNext - connect with mission agencies or schools worldwide
- The Mission App - connecting you to mission agencies that match your calling
- Linking Global Voices - networks and global collaboration for followers of Christ
- visionSynergy - developing high impact missional networks
- GetInvolved - frontier people group (FPGs) prayer communities
There are many agencies and churches looking for additional staff to help them in their mission and calling in Japan. Internet searches are probably the best way to find these organizations. The following are some example search topics you might try:
- Church planting agencies in Japan
- Christian ministry in Japan
- Business as mission
- Christian literature distribution
- Evangelism agencies
- Christian discipleship
- Short term Christian missions
- Long term Christian missions
- Urban ministries
- Christian media opportunities
- Bible translation opportunities
- Relief and development agencies
- Clean water projects
- Christian medical outreaches
| People Groups | 38 |
| Unreached People Groups | 26 (68.4%) |
| Population | 123,218,000 |
| Population Annual Growth Rate | -0.2% |
| Population in Unreached | 120,652,000 (97.9%) |
| Primary Religion | Buddhism |
| Percent Christian Adherent | 2.2% |
| Percent Evangelical | 0.6% |
| Evangelical Annual Growth Rate | -0.4% |
| Pioneer Workers Needed * | 2,425 |
| Country Progress Level | 1 ● |
| Urbanization | 92% |
| Continent | Asia |
| Region | Asia, Northeast |
| 10/40 Window | Yes |
| Country Code | JA |
| Official Language(s) | Japanese |
| Literacy Rate | 99% |
| Estimated Illiterate Population | 1,232,000 |
| Persecution Ranking | Not ranked |
|
All Unreached |
 |
| Language Map (Ethnologue) |
| Perry-Castaneda Map Collection |
| Japan Prayercast Video |
