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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Northern Amami-Oshima of Japan

The Northern Amami-Oshima of Japan, numbering approximately 73,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Japan. They are an Indigenous people, in the Japanese people cluster of the East Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Shinbutso-shugo. They primarily speak Amami-Oshima, Northern.

Northern Amami-Oshima in Japan photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 soichiro kashim - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: Japan
People Cluster: Japanese
Primary Language(s): Amami-Oshima, Northern (ryn)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Shinbutso-shugo
Population: 73,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007574
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Pray for the Northern Amami-Oshima 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: Ethnoreligion - Shinbutso-shugo
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Shinbutso… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Amami-Oshima, Northern
Language Family: Japonic

%
Amami-Oshima, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Amami-Oshima, Northern:

Films:

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Bible Resources in Amami-Oshima, Northern:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Amami-Oshima, Northern bible resources at Bible.com

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Next steps for the Northern Amami-Oshima

The Northern Amami-Oshima 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 Northern Amami-Oshima

The Northern Amami-Oshima 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 Northern Amami-Oshima

The Northern Amami-Oshima 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 Northern Amami-Oshima of Japan

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
readPsalm 18:31

As people look to their own efforts for hope, pray they will have the opportunity to learn and believe in the Lord, who is the only Rock worthy of their faith.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
readPsalm 57:10

Pray that God will work, even in the hearts of hard-to-reach people, and that they will rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
readPhilippians 2:5-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will imitate His humility in all they do.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
read2 Corinthians 5:20

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will be His ambassadors, faithfully imploring people on Christ's behalf to be reconciled to God through Jesus.

Amami-Oshima, Northern (ROP3 - 107434) 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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