The Vietnamese of Japan

The Vietnamese of Japan, numbering approximately 653,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnic Kinh community indigenous to Vietnam. Vietnamese currently form one of the largest and fastest-growing foreign communities in Japan. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Vietnamese is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Vietnamese

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Southeast Asian Peoples
Country: Japan
People Cluster: Vietnamese
Primary Language(s): Vietnamese (vie)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 653,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG050668
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Vietnamese 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

90%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language Family: Austroasiatic

100%
%

Media Resources in Vietnamese:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
MagdalenaView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Vietnamese:

Or check out the Vietnamese bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Vietnamese 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 Vietnamese:
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

Pray specifically for the Vietnamese of Japan

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
readPsalm 46:10

Pray that those who do not yet worship Jesus will be still and know that He is God, that He will be exalted among them and in all the earth.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.
readPsalm 75:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will give thanks to the Lord for His wondrous works and declare His goodness to all people.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Kinh Across Countries (ROP3 - 105018) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

24 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
VietnameseVietnameseVietnam85,730,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseUnited States1,605,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseFrance656,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseJapan653,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseEthnoreligion
VietnameseVietnameseCambodia535,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseAustralia336,000No Longer UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseCanada258,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseTaiwan217,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseAncestor Worship
VietnameseVietnameseRussian Federation150,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseAncestor Worship
VietnameseVietnameseLaos139,000No Longer UnreachedVietnameseEthnoreligion
VietnameseVietnameseThailand119,000No Longer UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseUnited Kingdom100,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseMalaysia85,000No Longer UnreachedVietnameseConfucianism
VietnameseVietnameseGermany83,500Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseCzech Republic60,500Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseHong Kong46,500Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseMacao18,500Unengaged and UnreachedVietnameseFolk Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseNetherlands8,800No Longer UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseNew Zealand4,900No Longer UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseNew Caledonia4,200Unengaged and UnreachedVietnameseRoman Catholicism
VietnameseVietnameseChina2,800Unengaged and UnreachedVietnameseAtheism
VietnameseVietnameseVanuatu500Unengaged and UnreachedVietnameseRoman Catholicism
VietnameseVietnameseUzbekistan450Unengaged and UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseMartinique375Unengaged and UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism

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.

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