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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ainu of Japan

The Ainu of Japan, numbering approximately 13,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are native to Japan, Kuril Islands (Tsishima), Hokkaido. They are an Indigenous people, in the Ural-Siberian people cluster of the Turkic Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Animism. They primarily speak Japanese.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Ainu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Japan
People Cluster: Ural-Siberian
Primary Language(s): Japanese (jpn)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Animism
Population: 13,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007550
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Ainu of Japan

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Animism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Japanese
Language Family: Japonic

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Media Resources in Japanese:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Japanese:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Japanese bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Ainu

The Ainu are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Ainu

The Ainu are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Ainu

The Ainu are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Ainu of Japan

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
readMatthew 13:8-9

Pray that they will have open hearts and minds to the Word of God, and that it will take root in their lives and bear fruit for His glory.

And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
readActs 16:15

Pray that God will bring entire families and households to faith in Him and raise up servant-leaders from among them.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way.
readPsalm 37:23

Pray that believers from near and far will serve here and trust in the Lord's timing as He establishes their steps.

Ainu (ROP3 - 100158) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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