The Japanese of Taiwan

The Japanese of Taiwan, numbering approximately 9,600 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an East Asian people whose culture reflects the interaction of indigenous traditions, East Asian influences, island geography, and long historical continuity. Their Japanese language serves as one of the strongest markers of national identity. They mostly adhere to Shinbutsu-Shugo and Japanese is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Taiwan
People Cluster: Japanese
Primary Language(s): Japanese (jpn)
Primary Religion(s): Shinbutsu-Shugo
Population: 9,600
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG007521
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Japanese of Taiwan

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shinbutsu-Shugo
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

65%
%
Shinbutsu-Shugo Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Japanese
Language Family: Japonic

100%
%
Japanese Speakers

Media Resources in Japanese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Japanese:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Japanese Contemporary Bible✓

1 entry

Or check out the Japanese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% or Greater but Less than 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Japanese:
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

Pray specifically for the Japanese of Taiwan

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
readJohn 3:17

Pray for those who are living under the burdens of man-made religion to learn about the freedom Jesus offers them and turn to Him in faith.

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name."
readIsaiah 65:1

Pray that the lost will be found by God, even when they are not seeking Him. Pray that He will reveal Himself to them in a way they cannot ignore and that they will respond in faith.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot... indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
readPsalm 16:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and face hardship, they will remember that God is their portion and cup and that He has a beautiful inheritance for them.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
read2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will serve others in Jesus' name, and the lost will have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

Japanese Across Countries (ROP3 - 104189) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

21 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▲
JapaneseJapaneseHong Kong10,000Unengaged and UnreachedJapaneseMahayana Buddhism
JapaneseJapaneseMalaysia17,000No Longer UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseCanada82,500Engaged yet UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseUnited States1,530,000Engaged yet UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseGermany25,000Unengaged and UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseSpain2,400Engaged yet UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapanesePeru168,000Engaged yet UnreachedSpanishShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapanesePanama2,300No Longer UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseBolivia21,000Unengaged and UnreachedSpanishShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseArgentina41,000Unengaged and UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseDominican Republic2,300Unengaged and UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseFrance24,500Unengaged and UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseMicronesia950Unengaged and UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseBrazil1,750,000Engaged yet UnreachedPortugueseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseSingapore43,000Engaged yet UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseNew Zealand21,500No Longer UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseAustralia57,500Engaged yet UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseJapan119,520,000Engaged yet UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseTaiwan9,600Unengaged and UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapaneseChina172,000Unengaged and UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo
JapaneseJapanesePortugal700Unengaged and UnreachedJapaneseShinbutsu-Shugo

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 Data Standards section.

Scroll to Top