Thinking of being a missionary in Japan? Great! There’s a huge need for mission work in Japan. Christians make up a mere 1% of the Japanese population. And unlike the U.S., most Japanese people know very little about Christianity, if anything. Some Japanese people even think Jesus was a bad guy! (I mean, since he was crucified and all…)
But what does it take to be a missionary in Japan? What do you need to be prepared for such a mission? I’ve been a missionary in Japan for 3.5 years at this point, and have seen several missionaries come and go. I’ll lay out what I think is necessary to serve God’s kingdom in Japan, based on my own experience, observations, and the experiences of others I’ve spoken to. I’ll break it down into two groups: necessary and helpful, but not strictly necessary.
Necessary
#1: God (obviously)
I don’t really think there’s much to say about this one. If God is calling you to be a missionary in Japan, that’s honestly the most important thing. If God wants you there, God’s going to be with you every step of the way. Trust in God’s plan.
#2: Your own spiritual support
While God is, of course, with you, you have to seek God out as well. This is #2 on the list because I’ve seen missionaries struggle a lot because they weren’t taking care of their spiritual health. As a missionary, your purpose is to serve, serve, serve. The people you interact with—even Christians—see you as a spiritual model, and will look to you for support. It’s pretty hard (and impossible for some) to get good spiritual support from the community you’re serving. Even more so if you don’t speak Japanese.
It is essential that you actively seek your own spiritual formation. Of course, you have your sending church and (hopefully) a prayer group praying for your ministry. But you’re going to need more than that for your daily life. Make sure you make time to be with God. Have a daily devotion time. Listen to English sermons online, or a Christian podcast (like BibleProject!). Find at least one person you can share your burdens, troubles, and praises with, and pray with that person regularly.
In a field where you are always pouring out, it’s important to make sure you’re being poured into as well. By taking care of your spiritual health, you’ll be much better able to serve your mission field in a healthy, faithful manner.
#3: Able to talk about the Bible to people with ZERO background knowledge
The U.S. and much of the Western world is interesting because most people have a general understanding of Christianity and the Bible. Or at the very least, they believe they understand it. But in Japan, most people don’t know anything about Jesus, the Bible, or Christianity.
With this in mind, you have to figure out how to share the gospel without assumptions. I had a student once who straight up asked me, “What is the Bible?” They had no clue that it was the go-to religious text for Christians, let alone “the Word of God.” They don’t have the same Christian cultural knowledge that most people have in the West. So you have to start from scratch. No “Christianese,” either.
In a way, though, it’s very freeing. It’s nice to work with people who have no prior assumptions. It allows them to be much more open to the gospel than many Americans might be.
#4: Meet Japanese people in their own cultural context
This may seem obvious, but Japan is VERY different than the West. The U.S. is individualistic. Japan is collectivist. The West is generally a guilt-innocence culture. Eastern countries like Japan have an honor-shame culture. It is unwise to approach Japan as if it’s the same as the U.S. because, well, it’s not.
Most things in Japan prove to be rather foreign to Westerners. Language aside, Japanese people are steeped in completely different religious practices. Buddhism and Shinto traditions reign supreme here. Moreover, Japan runs on different bureaucratic systems, social customs, and values and principles.
You need to meet Japanese people where they’re at. If you come at them with your Western sensibilities, they’ll find you interesting, for sure, but they won’t take you seriously. Most Japanese people are proud to be Japanese, and they want to maintain that cultural identity. Rather than trying to teach a Western Christianity, try to see how the good news of Jesus can speak into their own Japanese context.
#5: Humility and Patience – Accepting that your way is not the only way
No one wants to think about humility and patience, but it’s crucial to getting along well in the mission field. If you want to be taken seriously as a missionary in Japan, you’ll need to adapt to Japanese culture. When you try to follow Japanese customs, it shows that you respect their culture. Japanese people are more likely to respect you and hear what you have to say if they see you honoring their culture.
You also have to learn to submit to a different way of doing things—in society, but more specifically, in the church community you’re serving. Japanese Christians can be your allies (and, in my opinion, should be), but you must understand that they have their own way of doing church. They have their own methods that they believe better reach their own people.
I confess that I still don’t always understand their way of doing things, and I’m often tempted to believe my way is better. And in some cases, our way may actually be better! But depending on your position, it may not be your place to say.
As foreign missionaries in Japan, we need to embrace humility by (often) submitting to the Japanese Christian experience, and we need to practice patience when we don’t understand their way. God rewards faithfulness. Trust in God’s work by serving faithfully.
Helpful, but not strictly necessary
Japanese language ability
At my church, there has been a mix of missionaries with varying degrees of Japanese language ability. From what I’ve observed, you can connect with a reasonable number of Japanese people without speaking the language. I’ve known a few missionaries that had almost zero Japanese and could share the gospel in class just fine. So, depending on your particular ministry, you may not need to be able to speak Japanese.
However, that being said, I do think it’s immensely helpful to speak Japanese for a few reasons:
- You’ll have a much easier time functioning in Japanese society in general
- You can foster deeper, more intimate relationships with Japanese people
- The gospel does hit different when shared in their native language as opposed to a second language
Again, it’s not necessary to speak Japanese as a missionary in Japan. But I certainly do think it helps.
Knowledge of Japanese culture and history
Likewise, you don’t need to know the ins and outs of Japanese culture. Nor do you need to understand the complete history of Japan. I was a Japanese major, so I happened to study Japanese history and culture in college. But a lot of missionaries I know didn’t, and they were just fine. In fact, they could connect with Japanese people by learning about the culture right then and there. Kind of like a cultural exchange. Japanese people love sharing their culture and teaching others about their country.
I do think, though, that having some basic knowledge of Japanese culture and history will prove to be useful. It’ll help you understand a lot of cultural references and norms which, by extension, will help minimize the risk of you inadvertently offending someone. And as representatives of God, we don’t really want to needlessly offend people.
Knowledge of Buddhism and Shinto
Finally, it’s not necessary to understand the finer points of Buddhism or Shinto—the two main religions in Japan. There are many sects of Buddhism in Japan (including Zen), but their differences are hard to understand, and how they’re structured between the different temples is rather convoluted. Many Japanese people don’t really understand it themselves, even. Shinto, Japan’s indigenous religion, is more of a spirit/deity worship, where all things have spirits. (There’s even a toilet spirit!)
These religions do come up during festivals and religious practices on special days throughout the year, but you don’t need to have a degree in East Asian religions to be able to effectively minister to Japanese people.
However, I always recommend learning more. It can be helpful for understanding the way Japanese people think about life, death, and their own purpose in the universe. But you don’t need to read 20 books on Buddhism or anything. Maybe just a handful of articles. (Here’s one for a brief summary of Buddhism and Shinto in Japan.)
Being a missionary in Japan
It’s not easy being a missionary in Japan. Or anywhere, for that matter. But it is a rewarding, powerful experience, and an opportunity to see God’s love for the people of Japan. I’m truly honored to be a coworker with Christ here in the land of the rising sun. And if you’re thinking of becoming a missionary and feel called to Japan, my prayers are with you as you prepare for your own mission.
