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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Miyako-Irabu of Japan

The Miyako-Irabu of Japan, numbering approximately 65,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Japan They are an Indigenous people, with Miyako as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Japanese people cluster of the East Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Shinbutsu-Shugo. They primarily speak Japanese.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Matt Watts - Flickr Matt Watts - Flickr Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Japan
People Cluster: Japanese
Primary Language(s): Japanese (jpn)
Primary Religion(s): Shinbutsu-Shugo
Population: 65,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG047515
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Pray for the Miyako-Irabu of Japan

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shinbutsu-Shugo
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

97%
%
Shinbutsu-Shugo Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Japanese
Language Family: Japonic

100%
%
Japanese Speakers

Media Resources in Japanese:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Japanese:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Japanese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 2), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Minimally Reached People Group, (LPI: 3), 2% to 3% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical (GSEC: 4), this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical

Next steps for the Miyako-Irabu:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Miyako-Irabu 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.

Next steps for the Miyako-Irabu:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Miyako-Irabu 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.

Next steps for the Miyako-Irabu:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Miyako-Irabu of Japan

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will recognize Him as the only way to the Father and follow Him in faith.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.
readPsalm 130:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will wait on the Lord and have patience and trust, knowing His ways and His timing are always perfect.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
readEphesians 6:13

Pray that God will send believers to the lost of this people group and that, as they share the gospel, they will take up the whole armor of God so that they can stand firm when trials come.

Miyako Across Countries (ROP3 - 106630) 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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