Jesus is just… all right with Japan.

One big difference between the way I was raised in my home country and the way my kids are raised here is the lack of religion being infused in a lot of everyday things. Now, around the age of ten, they only have a vague idea of who “Jesus” is beyond the word I shout out when I step on a Lego.

Even with Christmas being a major (but not public) holiday and Easter currently having a go at it in Japan too, people here by and large just have a “meh” attitude towards the nitty gritty of Abrahamic religions. Here to drive home that fact is the International Religion Survey 2023 by Paris-based multinational market research firm Ipsos, which asked people in 26 major countries whether they believed in a deity in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic sense.

The global average was 40 percent, but Japan only had three percent of people claiming to be true believers. For context’s sake, South Africa and Turkey were the highest at 73 percent each, and the next lowest after Japan was South Korea with 15 percent. China tends to rank closely to Japan in such surveys but was not included in this one.

Ipsos also asked those surveyed whether they believed in any form of “higher power” that wasn’t necessarily a biblical god. Overall, this added about 20 percent to each countries respondents, and in Japan’s case added an additional 16 percent, for a total of 19 percent who believe something is out there.

On the other hand, Japan is not quite an outlier when it comes to not believing in a higher power. Of Japanese respondents, only 38 percent said that they do not believe, just a few points below countries such as South Korea, The Netherlands, and the UK. What Japan did rank first in though, was the percentage of people who say they simply “don’t know” at 34 percent and way ahead of second place Thailand at 24 percent.

That’s not to say Japan is devoid of spiritualism. With Buddhism and Shinto being the prevalent religions, there are certain beliefs, but they tend to be more abstract and flexible. For example, Ipsos also asked about other beliefs and Japan was more willing to believe in supernatural spirits and Hell, but less so Heaven and The Devil.

Moreover, when asked if they agree with the statement “my religion defines me as a person” Japan was fairly close to the global average of 42 percent with 37 percent. But, while having religion is one thing, perhaps a major reason all-knowing deities don’t catch on in Japan is that the country is so often afflicted with natural disasters to believe in such a driving force would beg the question of why it repeatedly kicks the crap out of us here specifically.

Some online comments reacting to the survey shared the same sentiment.

“A lot of people here realize that believing in a god is futile because natural disasters are always close by.”
“Religion is the cause of never-ending conflict.”
“People might think we’re barbarians because of this, but how many countries have as much law and order as us?”
“I don’t believe in a god, but I believe in Buddha.”
“Sure, but we all go to temples and shrines on New Year’s and Obon.”
“I believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.”
“If I believe in a god, I’ll decide what it is. I don’t need someone else to tell me what it is.”
“Religion is the worst thing humanity invented.”
“Corporate slaves have no god. Well, truthfully, it is better to have faith, but… I worship money!”

Needless to say, until Jesus returns and starts handing out cash and investment-grade bonds, you’re more likely to find Evangelion than evangelicals and more likely to hear “Last Christmas” by Wham! than “Away in a Manger” in Japan. Maybe that’s why this was the perfect place for Jesus to get away from it all and retire here for the last 73 years of his life, according to the scriptures of the Takeuchi Family in Aomori Prefecture.

Source: Ipsos, Christian Today, Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Ipsos
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