Pray For Workers
Pray for Japanese Christian Believers and for workers who serve alongside them, and for perseverance in a field where fruit often comes slowly.
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
Matthew 9:37-38
Pray For The Church
Pray for Japan’s small congregations, many of them ageing and without pastors, that God would strengthen them, raise up leaders, and give them vision beyond their own walls.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1
Pray For The Next Generation
Pray for young Japanese people carrying heavy pressure to perform and belong, that they would find hope in Jesus Christ, and that God would raise up young Christian Believers to lead.
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11
Capital: Tokyo
Population: Approximately 122 million
Region: East Asia
People Groups: 43
Unreached People Groups: 28
Unreached Frontier People Groups: 2
Religions: Shintoism 70.5%, Buddhism 67.2%, Christianity 1.5%, Other 5.9% (many Japanese practice both Shinto and Buddhist traditions, so the figures overlap)
Japan is a wealthy, highly educated island nation with near universal literacy and complete religious freedom. It is also one of the least evangelized nations on earth. Nothing prevents the Gospel from being preached here, and yet very few have believed.
Japan has approximately 43 people groups, of which 28 are classified as unreached and 2 as frontier – communities with almost no followers of Jesus Christ and no known movement toward Him. Around 119 million people, more than 98% of the population, live within people groups classified as unreached, and evangelical Christian Believers number well under one percent.
Japanese is spoken across the nation, with regional languages in the Ryukyu Islands and among the Ainu. Literacy is effectively universal, and the complete Bible, the JESUS film, and abundant Christian media all exist in Japanese.
This makes Japan a particular kind of mission field. The Word is available and readable, but largely unread. Several island languages, including Miyako, Kunigami, and Yaeyama, still have no Scripture at all.
Pray especially for Scripture engagement, sound Bible teaching, discipleship resources, and Japanese Christian Believers who can share a living faith with their neighbours.
The Japanese people are among the largest unreached people groups in the world. More than 117 million of them live within Japan alone, with barely one in fifty identifying as Christian in any form.
Others include the Burakumin, a historically marginalized community of around 859,000; the Ryukyuan and Okinawan peoples of the southern islands; the Ainu of the north; and growing migrant communities from across Asia.
The barrier here is not hostility but indifference and identity. Shinto and Buddhist practice is woven into birth, marriage, and death, and following Jesus Christ can be seen as stepping outside the family rather than embracing a new faith. Japan’s population is also shrinking and ageing rapidly, and many congregations are small, elderly, and without pastors.
Pray For The Unreached
Pray for the Japanese people, among whom there are very few followers of Jesus Christ despite complete freedom to hear of Him, that God would stir spiritual hunger and open hearts.
The entrance of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:130
Pray For Scripture Engagement
The Bible is available to every Japanese reader, yet few have opened it. Pray that God’s Word would be read, taught, and believed, and that His Spirit would bring it to life.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
Pray For The Islands And The Overlooked
Pray for the Ryukyuan, Okinawan, and Ainu peoples, for the Burakumin, and for migrant communities, that each would hear the Gospel in a way that speaks to their own story.
For He will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
Psalm 72:12
Pray For The Impossible
Japan’s need is far greater than human effort alone can meet. Pray for a movement of God across these islands, and for whole families to encounter Jesus Christ together.
Your Word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105
Lord Jesus,
We pray for Japan – a nation of islands and cities, of great skill and deep courtesy, free to hear Your name yet still largely without You. You know every people group by name. You know every neighborhood, every island village, every family, and every person who has never truly heard the Gospel.
Raise up Japanese Christian Believers and workers from around the world. Give Your Church courage and patience in a field where fruit comes slowly. Open Your Word in Japanese hearts. Strengthen small and ageing congregations, and raise up leaders to serve them. Move among Japan’s young people, and give them hope that does not fade.
And Lord, for those who have never heard – send someone. Let the name of Jesus Christ be known in every community. Let churches be planted and strengthened. Let disciples multiply where He is barely known and let Japan become a testimony of Your grace among the nations.
Amen.
