Introduction
Japan is made up of a large group of islands, of which the four main ones are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Historically, Japanese identity is deeply tied to Shintoism. Together with Buddhism and new religions, it constitutes about 90 percent of the population. Only 1.5 percent of a population of about 127 million is Christian.
As Japan has become more affluent over the years, its beliefs have morphed into a sort of “buffet”, accepting temples, shrines and rituals from a vast array of religions. The official number of believers in the various religions is about 217 million, and far exceeds Japan’s population because most Japanese follow a combination of religions.
| Population (2010) 1 | 127.4 million |
| Major languages2 (number of speakers) |
Japanese (121 million) |
| Okinawan (0.984 million) | |
| Korean (0.67 million) | |
| Main religions3 (percentage of total population) |
Buddhists (69.59%) |
| Non-religious (5%) | |
| Christian (1.54%) | |
| Others (23.87%) | |
| Main UPGs4 (Unreached People Groups) |
Japanese (122.8 million) |
| Ryukyuan (0.984 million) | |
| Burakumin (0.893 million) |
1. World Population Data Sheet, 2010
2. www.ethnologue.com
3. Operation World 7th Edition, 2010
4. Joshua Project
