Common Strongholds in Japan

By: Chef Niku

Japan is a land that has thousands of temples and shrines devoted to the gods. Almost everywhere you go, you are bound to see some sort of shrine to the ancestors or temple to the Buddhist and Shinto gods. Physically, with your eye, you can see tangible strongholds that are all over the country but there are also hidden spiritual strongholds that are important to consider when talking with your Japanese friends and doing ministry.

The Japanese people have a very common saying, actually two sayings. しょうがない “shōganai” and しかたがない ”shikataganai”. Shoganai means “can’t do anything, but give up” and shikataganai means “it can’t be helped”. You can see that Japanese people are taught to think that they are powerless and they can’t do anything to change their situation. This kind of thinking feeds the feelings of hopelessness in difficult situations and has led many people to take their lives because they truly believed that nothing could be changed about their situation.

The stronghold of powerlessness has trapped millions and many have taken their lives but in God there is powerful hope. Romans 15:13 says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you many abound in hope.” When our Japanese friends see the hope that we have in us, we can explain how our hope in Christ has freed us from the hopelessness that grips much of the world. Only in the Lord can our dear friends experience true joy and peace in God powered by the Holy Spirit Himself.

Another stronghold (a very cultural one too) is that Japanese are taught to conform to societal expectations. Every Japanese person has certain expectations they are required to meet in their various social circles (family, work, friends, etc…). When these expectations are not met, then shame and being cast out are the result which is very devastating and can cause hopelessness, which fuels the previously mentioned stronghold.

This type of thinking leads to suppression of one’s own desires and personality and what one values. It also leads to people pleasing and unhealthily doing what others want at the expense of health. An example of this is that of karoshi （かろうし) which is working oneself to death, “literally means “over work death”. Japanese are taught when they are young that to succeed is to go to a university and get a good paying job, that is what your life purpose is and everyone is expected to achieve this. If you don’t, then you don’t have value and have failed to be accepted by society.

While most Japanese don’t outright say this, this is the thinking behind overworking (to meet the expectations of others and be accepted). Conformity to what society expects is a very stronghold but is also fueled by the deeper need for acceptance.

There is hope for the Japanese in the need for acceptance and God provides all of the acceptance that they need. Romans 15:7 says that we are to “welcome another as Christ has welcome you, for the glory of God.” This promise of acceptance is further solidified in John 6:37 where Jesus says “all that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out”. What wonderful hope there is for our Japanese friends, that if they come to Lord and find acceptance in Him, then they will never be cast out or rejected.

Have you noticed these strongholds when you talk with your Japanese friends? What is one biblical truth that you could share with them?