The Japan Initiative

What is Incarnational Missions?

Becoming part of a local community. Learning the Japanese language. Engaging with community events. Living as a responsible citizen. Giving back to the community through service. Developing friendships. Exemplifying a healthy marriage and family. Helping those in distress.

A Story of Incarnational Missions in Japan

Kyoko felt this was her family’s last chance to stay together. At the base of the staircase leading to their new apartment, she and her husband and their three young children unloaded their moving truck. As a young woman, Kyoko had moved to Kyoto to pursue art and design.

She didn’t know that the exciting young man she met was deeply involved with the Japanese underworld, or that their relationship would lead to three regretted abortions before they finally married. Now their life had completely unraveled. She had gone to the bullet train station to flee with the children, but her oldest daughter had implored her to call home. Kyoko had agreed to try one more time by moving to a new area.

Now, here in Kawachinagano, a foreigner came down the staircase. Strangely, he spoke to them in fluent Japanese and offered to help carry their things. Who was this man? Fruitful Relationships This was the beginning of a relationship that would span decades and transform three generations of Kyoko’s family, not to mention my own.

It was 1987, and my wife, Hiromi, and I were about to plant our first church. We had been praying for the family who would move into the empty apartment across the landing from ours. Soon after they moved in, we invited Kyoko to our home Bible study, where she began to tell her story. As a child, Kyoko was near death when, out of desperation, her parents asked a pastor for help. The pastor prayed and obtained antibiotics from the US. Satoko always knew that the prayers of Christians had saved her life.

An avid reader, as an adult she began to read the books of Christian author Ayako Miura—the same books that had led my wife, Hiromi, to Christ when she was in college in Osaka. There was an instant connection. On December 25, 1988, Kyoko was the first person baptized at our church plant. Over the years her husband and three children followed in profession of faith, and a few years ago her first granddaughter accepted Christ.

Understanding the Culture

Japan is the most accessible, least reached country in Asia. A superficial openness combined with underlying cultural barriers has made Japan an enigma for many missionaries. Reaching the Japanese requires embracing some of the unique features of their culture.

Language: Japanese are generally monolingual. They love their language and place great importance on the mastery of it.
Time: Japanese are very long-term oriented. They plan for the future from a young age. Thus, the missionary needs to be ready to commit to the long term to be taken seriously.
Relationships: Japanese are very relationship oriented. They make choices based on trust relationships rather than logical information.
Age: Japanese place great value on age. They respect people who have life experience. Young people and “newcomers” must prove themselves. These cultural features mean a missionary needs to put down roots and engage in daily life in his or her neighborhood. Relationships develop slowly, and ongoing interaction over time opens the way for meaningful conversations. The first step to sharing the gospel often begins over a cup of coffee at the house of the missionary.

For years, missionaries have sought a “key” to unlock spiritual strongholds and bring Japanese to Christ. In reality, lasting results come not from a new technique but rather from a church-centric, incarnational approach.

Understanding the Japanese Mind

Most literature will state that Japanese are either Buddhists or followers of Shinto. The influence of both is evident in rituals that form the fabric of Japanese life. However, rituals are carried out as part of tradition more than actual beliefs. In fact, most Japanese would be hard pressed to explain what Buddhism teaches. As a culture that values ceremony, the ritual itself is far more important than what it means. For them the spiritual realm is vague, and the afterlife is rarely thought about. The actual belief system of most Japanese could be described as polytheistic, relativistic, and humanistic. That belief system results in Japanese being extremely good neighbors and open to listening to new ideas while at the same time being reluctant to commit to a belief system that demands allegiance to one sovereign God. There are many challenges to the gospel in Japan, but the following are the Big 3:

Time: Life in Japan is busy, and religious ceremonies are mostly seasonal. The concept of weekly religious meetings is limited to new religions, cults, and Christianity. Most people are hesitant to commit to regular weekly attendance.
Here and Now: The role of religion in Japan is functional and utilitarian. Japanese go to a shrine or temple when they need something, such as entrance to college or the healthy delivery of a baby. It is a “vending machine” faith based on individual needs not on a relationship with God.
Others Consciousness: Perhaps the biggest barrier is the idea of doing something that is different from everyone else. A Vacuum to Fill In the more than 80 years since the end of World War II, Japan has transformed itself into a wealthy democracy. But in the midst of its headlong rush for wealth, there has been a major breakdown in the family. Divorce rates have skyrocketed, clinical depression is on the rise, and the number of people who have given up on life and rarely leave home is astounding. This breakdown in the family is the biggest need and greatest opportunity for missionaries and Japanese Christians to share Christ in a meaningful way.

At the Japan Initiative we reach families through church planting, disaster response, and international school ministry as well as by rescuing people trapped in cults and training future Japanese leaders at Kansai Bible Institute.