Japanese of Malaysia (PGID: PG020241)

The Japanese of Malaysia

The Japanese of Malaysia, numbering approximately 17,000 people, are No Longer 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: Malaysia
People Cluster: Japanese
Primary Language(s): Japanese (jpn)
Primary Religion(s): Shinbutsu-Shugo
Population: 17,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG020241
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Pray for the Japanese of Malaysia

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.

Pray Now!

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Shinbutsu-Shugo
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

60%

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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Japanese 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 Japanese:

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 Japanese of Malaysia

For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
Psalm 130:7b

Pray for those who are unaware of God's steadfast love that is offered to them through Jesus Christ to learn the truth and experience His plentiful redemption.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
Luke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hide God's Word in their hearts, let it shape their conversations and daily lives, and pass on their faith to the next generation.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.
1 Corinthians 9:20

Pray that believers from similar cultures will be compelled by Christ's love to reach people who don't know the gospel, and that those people will receive the good news with joy.

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
PG024840	Japanese	Panama	2,300	No Longer Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG020241	Japanese	Malaysia	17,000	No Longer Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG009626	Japanese	New Zealand	21,500	No Longer 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
PG042346	Japanese	Spain	2,400	Engaged yet Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG033527	Japanese	Peru	168,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Spanish	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
PG007938	Japanese	Australia	57,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG007559	Japanese	Japan	119,540,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG050602	Japanese	Hong Kong	10,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Mahayana Buddhism
PG042427	Japanese	Germany	25,000	Unengaged and 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
PG018356	Japanese	Micronesia	950	Unengaged and 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
PG000488	Japanese	Portugal	700	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo
PG000167	Japanese	France	24,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Japanese	Shinbutsu-Shugo

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

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