Introduction / History

Jewish people began arriving in Japan in the nineteenth century. More Jews began coming to Japan after 1920. Many Polish Jews escaped to Japan via Lithuania in the early part of World War II. German Nazis tried to get the Japanese to stand against these Jews, but the Japanese government refused, even though they were allies of Germany. There are many Jewish families in the capital, Tokyo. Some are in Kobe. The Jewish people first went to Kobe to live after the 1923 earthquake in the Japanese island of Honshu.

What Are Their Lives Like?

After the war, many Jews in Japan went to live in Israel. Others went to Western countries like the United States. A few married into Japanese families. Since that time, Jewish people have come to Japan for business reasons, often staying for only a short time. Many Japanese Jews work in finance and there are journalists and students among them. There is monthly Jewish periodical in Japanese. There are Jewish community centers in the cities where they live. They speak mainly Japanese. There are many books on the Jewish faith in Japan. Few Japanese are familiar with their Jewish neighbors.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Not many Jews in Japan attend synagogues. Jewishness is part of their identity, but it may not affect their spiritual lives.

What Are Their Needs?

The Jews in Japan need the spiritual hunger to get beyond using Judaism as a mere cultural affiliation. They need a hunger and thirst for the God of Abraham, the same God who sent his son to pay for the sins of the world.

Prayer Points

Pray for a spiritual hunger that will drive them towards the God of salvation. Pray that Messianic Jews will lead the Japanese Jews to Jesus Christ. Pray for a movement to Christ among Japan's Jewish communities.

Scripture Prayers for the Judeo-Japanese in Japan.