Japan

Japan – Key to Reaching Asia

 With a population of almost 128 million, Japan is only the tenth most populated country in the world.  When most mission strategists talk about Asia they naturally think of nations like China and India because of their growing economic influence and huge populations. However Japan has been uniquely positioned by God to be a major influence throughout Asia in the twenty-first century. Japan is a leading force in business and economics, with major international banks and world-dominating companies in the electronics, technology and automotive industries.  This year, China passed Japan to become the second largest economy in the world for the first time. However, while Japan is still a very close third economically, I would assert that Japan has an even greater power in its culture. Japanese culture is unique and fascinating. You can see the impact of this “culture export” all over the world but most especially in Asian countries. This cultural influence causes change in the youth and over time it becomes a powerful force to change the thinking and behavior in entire countries.

Even as I write this, Japanese creative minds are undeniably influencing the arts and media of many countries across the waters from her shores. Japan produces 80% of the world’s video animations, called anime. Other media include manga ”comic books” and Japanese television. J-Pop music culture has penetrated throughout the world and  Tokyo fashion is visible from Korea to Paris and everywhere in between. Styles from the streets of Harajuku, the famous fashion mecca in the heart of Tokyo, are said to strongly influence some of big-name fashion designers in Europe. Even Japanese food culture is influencing the world. The Japanese television cooking show “Iron Chef” has been popular for many years and this year, the venereable Michelin Guide, which annually rates the world’s best restaurants, proclaimed Tokyo “the world leader in gourmet dining” and awarded more than twice as many stars to gourmet establishments in Tokyo than to those in Paris, the former gourmet leader.The last century’s financial boom in Japan created one of the world’s highest standards of living. Because of the fat billfolds of the typical Japanese tourist, most Asian countries welcome a Japanese passport.  Communist nations are open to Japanese tourism and business.  Recently, even some pragmatic Islamic nations, looking to bolster their economic conditions, invite Japanese business and tourism. Japanese passports can easily go places that others cannot. In short,  Japan has been positioned to reach into every Asian nation through exports, media, culture and also through individual Japanese citizens.

Tokyo – Key to Reaching Japan

NASA Photo of Tokyo Bay

The GDP of Tokyo alone is greater than the GDP of Canada.  Over 25% of the entire population of Japan lives in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.  This makes the Tokyo “mega-city” agglomeration 34,000,000 people and the largest agglomeration in the world.  Tokyo is not only one of the largest cities in the world, but it is also one of the single largest unevangelized masses of humanity anywhere at any time in history (according to the Joshua Project, only the Islamic Shaiks of Bangladesh are a larger unreached people group). Over 3 million people per day travel through Shinjuku station in the center of Tokyo.  If the Bible is true, 99% are headed for an eternal separation from God.  This is unacceptable.  We must redouble our efforts to understand and reach the largest city in the world. 

The longer we wait, the more souls will be lost.  On the other hand, if we can reach Tokyo the rewards are great.  As I see it Tokyo is truly a “pearl of great price” which is worth the enormous cost to possess.  If Tokyo experiences revival in the early 21st century, it will not only change Japan, it will change Asia and the uttermost parts of the earth.

Discipleship – Key to Reaching Tokyo

Exponential change is needed to penetrate and change the entire city. No existing single mega-church in the world is big enough to have the kind of influence that would truly change a city the size of Tokyo. Instead there must be multiplication of disciples, training of leaders, planting of churches which multiply like seeds growing and reproducing. This year marked 150 years of Protestant Mission to Japan. Because Japan is still more than 99% unreached, it might seem at a glance that nothing is happening. But Christianity has had a disproportionate affect on this nation since World War II. Many Christian educational institutions and hospitals stand as a testament its influence.  Christianity is well-respected and is, in fact, regarded as one of the most true and virtuous religions. But as a wise Japanese pastor said publically at a recent Tokyo world mission symposium, “Japanese people put relationships above the truth.” We must find a way to show this people that the best thing they can do for their relationships is to embrace God’s Truth. Because Japan is culturally homogeneous and because of the deep relationship-base of the population it is possible to see a total shift towards Christianity in our generation.  If true Japanese disciples with a heart to reach the lost can be made then it is possible that Japan could become a Christian nation very quickly. Jesus invested three years in His disciples and they multiplied and “turned the world upside down.” If a movement of young people in Tokyo can influence the worldwide fashion industry out of one train station at Harajuku then they can also influence their city to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If Tokyo is influenced by the Gospel then Japan as a nation will surely be influenced too. The only thing necessary for turning Japan upside down is some true disciples. The only thing necessary for making true disciples is one minister who is willing to be used by God. Lord, please use me.

I wrote this paper for my Theology class at Every Nation Leadership Intitute during my studies there. I have had several different people tell me that it was helpful in understanding Japanese Shinto. It is a very simple overview of  Shinto and includes some points that I thought were interesting.

Please download and read this paper if you are interested in learning more about the history and context of Shinto in order to reach Japanese people. Although I have found that the average Japanese person does not know a great deal about Shinto, the culture, traditions and daily life of many Japanese are influenced a great deal by it. And it is believed by many, right or wrong, that in order to be Japanese one must also “be” Shinto.

I welcome your additions, corrections and even criticism. I am certainly no expert on this topic, just an interested learner who wants to share. Join the forum via the link below to leave a comment.

Download this Table as a PDF file

School life is full of pressures in Japan. From an early age children learn that the university they get into will determine their success in life. Many universities have feeder high schools, which also have feeder jr. high schools, etc down to the preschool level. Parents who are forward thinkers concerning their children’s education work hard to get their children into the proper kindergarten (often starting at age 3 or 4) so their child will have the best chance to get into the “right” university. Because of this system, children may have already been labeled failures by the time they reach puberty.

Bullying or ijime is a common problem, making some students fear attending school. Often this behavior is overt and sometimes the teacher is involved as well. The scapegoat student, picked as different for whatever reason, has no recourse and no way of escaping daily verbal, mental, emotional, and sometimes even physical abuse. Exam Hell or juken in Jr. High and High School is well-known even outside of Japan because of television and investigative journalism.

The pressures caused by the educational system in Japan have not only led to a high suicide rate among Japan’s youth it has also led more and more young people to rebel against traditional society. Some forms of disobedience have been well-known for years, such as the bosozuku motorcycle gangs that roam city and country streets after midnight. But in recent years there have been at least four new trends among the youth here that might be even more troubling than the open defiance of the bosozoku.

Parasite Singles – furita and hikikomori

A new class of young adult called “parasite single” has emerged in Japan, especially in the major cities, most notably Tokyo where 25% of the nation’s 127 million population resides. These teens and young adults have grown up in an affluent society and have not lacked training or opportunity. Yet more and more are electing to drop out of society altogether. They typically live with their parents and grandparents and do not go to school or pursue any kind of career. Some of these may be simply rebelling against the structured and high-pressure lifestyle of their fathers. But others seem to have deeper problems, difficult to fathom and rooted in a kind of spiritual bondage.

In the 1980’s a new word was coined in Japan; the furita, which means essentially “free part-time worker.” Many youth, especially those who do not pass the rigorous college entrance exams required by popular universities, decide that they do not care about advancing in their career. They find that they prefer to work low paying part-time jobs and have free time to do what they want. This type of attitude is revolutionary in a society where image and social status are obtained largely by what school you graduate from and from which company hires you. According to Imidas, an annual Japanese-language publication that chronicles current trends and statistics in Japan, the number of furita in Japan ages 15 to 34 more than doubled from 1991 to 2001. In 1991, 10.1% of the Japanese work force fit into the category of furita. By 2001 this figure had risen to 21.2%.

There is another type of parasite single which is even more troubling than the furita. There is a growing trend among young people today to simply lock themselves in their bedrooms and refuse to talk to anyone or go anywhere. Significant numbers of youth are refusing to go to school or to their job and are not only dropping out of society but of any contact with reality. This behavior has also prompted a new Japanese term; hikikomori. Tim Larimer of TIME magazine did an article on this phenomenon in the August, 2001 edition titled “Staying In And Tuning Out.” An excerpt from this article shows the seriousness of the problem:

Fantasy and Escapism

Many youth in the world of the hikikomori spend all of their waking hours lost in a fantasy world of video games, animated movies called anime, or on the internet, interacting with others only through virtual personas. Even the older generation in Japan, especially in larger cities, has an obvious addiction to fantasy and escapism. A favorite pastime of the Japanese salaryman (company employee), for example, is reading manga. These thick comic books are almost an art-form in Japan but unfortunately many are filled with violence, sensuality and perversion. There are different types of manga written to target every age group in Japan. It is a common site to see people on crowded trains intensely reading and lost in the plot of their favorite manga, while the reality of being crushed into crowded commuter trains daily for hours at a time is blissfully ignored.

Another form of escape from a pressure filled existence is the Role Playing Game or RPG where players can assume the character of any type of creature he prefers, real or imaginary and get away with behavior which would never be tolerated in the strict Japanese society. RPGs are very popular in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan. Most youth have a game console or a personal computer with a broadband internet connection and if the pressures of everyday life get too great, the temptation is to lock oneself away in one’s room and become hikikomori.

Violence and Death Fascination

One of the most frightening trends among Japanese youth today is their fascination with violence and death. The suicide rate in Japan is epidemic. It is one of the highest suicide rates of any modern industrialized nation and is double that of the United States. In 2003 there was a suicide about every 15 minutes in Japan and there is no sign that the rising trend has slowed since that point. Statistically, in Tokyo one is five times more likely to die by his own hand than by a traffic accident. There are new types of suicide reported in the news media every year. Websites have been set up on the internet where those who are considering suicide can meet online and get information on various methods for ending one’s life. Recently a string of internet suicide pact deaths shocked Japan.

The highest rate of suicide is among the older generation and health and economic worries are widely believed to be the main causes. But the number of suicides among the youth is growing at an alarming rate. According to a an Asia Times article titled “Suicide also rises in the land of rising sun” the suicide rate for elementary and middle-school children in Japan rose 57.6% from 2001 to 2002. The high suicide rate is an indication of the growing sense of helplessness and lack of purpose in the youth of Japan. Another grim trend is violence among the very young.

Through the last half of the 20th century, Japan was noted for its lack of violent crime, even in the cities. In 1997 however, a 14-year old boy shocked the nation by cutting off the head of an 11-year old student and leaving it at the entrance gate to his school. Since that time violent incidents among young students and even hikikomori youth have occurred with startling regularity. An article in the Washington Post in August, 2004 states:

Immorality

Along with the increasing violence and escapism in the youth, there is a rapidly growing immorality problem. For years, Japan has been the largest sex industry market for Asian women. Japanese men constitute the largest number of sex tourists in Asia. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island website report this about Tokyo:

The following is from a collection of facts on Japan at a website at http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/japan.htm called “Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation” under the heading Japan.

1. In 1998, Japan was the world’s biggest producer of child pornography and Parliament recently refused to pass a law banning the production of child pornography, citing “business reasons.”
2. Until 1997, Tokyo and Nagano were the only areas in Japan where sex with children was not illegal.
3. The legal age of consent for sex in Tokyo and Nagano is 13, not 18 like the rest of the country.

Enjokosai, or enko for short, which means “teenage girls’ compensated dating” is a new word coined to describe the large number of teenage girls who are working for dating services, phone clubs or simply on their own, to offer prostitution services to older men. Researcher Fukutomi Mamoru has done detailed research among Jr. High and High School girls and found that reasons for engaging in this form of prostitution include being “too lazy to work”, the “trend to have brand-named goods”, and even that there “may be a certain glamour in being involved in enjokosai… Enjokosai has become fashionable.”

Conclusion

This is a key generation in Japan. The previous four trends clearly indicate that there is a generation in Japan right now that has lost its purpose. The secular authorities and experts have no solutions for the gross darkness which has overtaken the youth of Japan. The promise of a rigorously structured life of service to the company and duty to society holds little attraction to the youth of Japan today because they have seen the spiritual emptiness of the previous generations. This has led to an unprecedented “dropping out” of an entire generation into a life of parasite singles, escapism, immorality, violence and even suicide.

The Bible promises that the Church will have answers for the problems in Japanese society today, and that the “nations will come to her light” (Isaiah 60). This is the opportune time for Japan, the moment when there are felt needs that can be met by the Church. In this new generation of crisis, the church must redouble her efforts to reach the youth of Japan.