The Vietnamese of Japan

The Vietnamese of Japan, numbering approximately 654,000 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: 654,000
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

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.
readRomans 3:12

Pray that those who are enslaved to sin will admit their need for a Savior, acknowledging that no one is righteous.

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
readMark 10:14b

Praise Jesus for the way He loves children, asking that many will learn the truth about Him and come to Him unhindered.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be humble and give glory to God through their good deeds.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

24 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
VietnameseVietnameseVietnam85,770,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseUnited States1,605,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseFrance656,000Engaged yet UnreachedVietnameseMahayana Buddhism
VietnameseVietnameseJapan654,000Engaged 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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