Japanese of Micronesia (PGID: PG018356)

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Japanese of Micronesia

The Japanese of Micronesia, numbering approximately 950 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 2.5 Flash: Japanese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: East Asian Peoples
Country: Micronesia
People Cluster: Japanese
Primary Language(s): Japanese (jpn)
Primary Religion(s): Shinbutsu-Shugo
Population: 950
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG018356
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Pray for the Japanese of Micronesia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shinbutsu-Shugo
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

50%

Shinbutsu-Shugo Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Japanese
Language Family: Japonic

100%

Japanese Speakers

Media Resources in Japanese:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film
JESUS	View Film
Magdalena	View Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Japanese:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
Japanese Contemporary Bible	✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Japanese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

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): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% 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 Micronesia

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:23

Pray that the gospel will advance and many will acknowledge that all have sinned, fall short of God's glory, and need a Savior to reconcile them to God.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
Matthew 18:19

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they find other believers to pray with, and that they will trust God to answer their requests according to His will.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

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

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

21 people groups

People Group ID	Name	Country	Population	Strategic Progress Index	Language	Religion ▼
PG000488	Japanese	Portugal	700	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG043417	Japanese	Canada	82,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG043285	Japanese	United States	1,530,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG042427	Japanese	Germany	25,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG042346	Japanese	Spain	2,400	Engaged yet Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG033527	Japanese	Peru	168,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Spanish	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG024840	Japanese	Panama	2,300	No Longer Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG023935	Japanese	Bolivia	21,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Spanish	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG023934	Japanese	Argentina	41,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG022276	Japanese	Dominican Republic	2,300	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG020241	Japanese	Malaysia	17,000	No Longer Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG018356	Japanese	Micronesia	950	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG016892	Japanese	Brazil	1,750,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Portuguese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG010707	Japanese	Singapore	43,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG009626	Japanese	New Zealand	21,500	No Longer Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG007938	Japanese	Australia	57,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG007559	Japanese	Japan	119,550,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG007521	Japanese	Taiwan	9,600	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG007212	Japanese	China	172,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG000167	Japanese	France	24,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG050602	Japanese	Hong Kong	10,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Mahayana Buddhism

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

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