Breaking Out

“Japan is the only country that has four seasons.” Ever heard that before? You might have objected, citing experience from elsewhere; maybe you just chuckled to yourself. Or perhaps: “Only Japanese people can understand___” (fill in the blank). Like me, you might have objected initially, but then again Japan certainly does have mysteries beyond this Westerner. These phrases sound misguided at best, ethnocentric at worst. Yet when my wife (who is Japanese) and I welcomed our son, Jin, into the world in 2012, I wondered if these ideas could be more significant than I realized.

Although it was my 13th year in Japan, becoming a new father in this land set off a flurry of fresh questions for me. I would now be dealing with Japanese society in a new way. I wondered how other kids would receive our son, a child with one Japanese parent and one foreign parent. How should I react when my kid is called “haafu (half-Japanese, a mere 50%-er)”? Should I try to promote a rival label like “double” or “mixed”?

The Theory

My questions echoed in the study I was doing on Japanese culture for a college class I teach. There is a name for this Japanese way of thinking: Nihonjinron, literally “theory on Japanese people.” Nihonjinron sees Japanese people as ethnically, culturally, and racially unique, especially in contrast to the West.

During the Meiji Era, Japan opened its doors to the West and found itself behind the competition. Japan had to position itself as unique from its Asian neighbors and so argued its cultural superiority. Although the theory has peaked academically, the idea that “Japanese people are unique” is not uncommon in Japan. Even some Western writers have adopted this theory, and you may have read books influenced by nihonjinron.

So what?

So what do four seasons and Japanese people maintaining their uniqueness have to do with us as missionaries? These powerful thoughts and beliefs easily spill into the spiritual world where we are trying to shine the light of Christ. “Japan is unique in all the world,” can lead to “Japanese people accept and practice religion differently than others.” So far not entirely bad, but looking at the current reality and Japanese history, next we might think, “Japan cannot accept Jesus the way other countries do.” Following that is: “Japan will never come to Christ in a significant way,” or “Japan will never change.”

Have you thought in these terms, like I have, in your weaker moments? Those final thoughts are powerful lies that will cripple our ministry if we believe them. Believing that Japan is an exception to the rule subtly leads us to doubt the power of the gospel in Japan.

Can’t do much . . . or can I?

What do we do with thoughts or systems of thinking that are directly opposed to everything we have invested in Japan? We can shrug our shoulders and say, “Shoganai (Can’t do much about it)!” We can hunker down for survival and never dare to hope for substantial change in Japan. Or we can demolish those lies and build something better.

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:4-5, NIV).

Paul employs a language that is offensive to peace-loving Japan. He says we have powerful weapons at our disposal and they demolish fortresses and walls. What are these walls? They are arguments or systems of logic. He continues his war-like language by saying we must take thoughts “captive.” It is clear in this passage that we have opposition. We are not up against the Japanese people we love. We struggle against theories like nihonjinron and lies associated with them. One reason the gospel has not fully broken through in Japan is because walls stand in the way. These are deep-seated beliefs and systems of thought that are counter to the knowledge of God, to the truth of Jesus Christ. Paul doesn’t suggest a renovation to current worldly thinking. He says we have to knock the building down and start over with a different foundation.

Japan-Changers

Christians throughout history challenged thinking that was contrary to the knowledge of God. The early Christian fathers discredited the Gnostics, missionaries stopped foot-binding in China while still respecting Chinese culture, and Martin Luther King Jr. took on the stronghold of racism in the USA in the 1960’s. Will we be the ones to make a significant breakthrough in laying the groundwork for the gospel in Japan?

Undertaking such a project would come in two phases—both of them on an individual level.

First, we must identify how the stronghold has affected our own thinking. “What do I believe about ministry in Japan that is not centered on the truth of the gospel?” When we start to operate in the truth and in expectancy of God’s power, then we approach the second phase of bringing that truth to people we know.

If we have a relationship or a place to speak into the lives of Japanese people, they will be open to hearing our differing viewpoint. My wife can tell her non-Christian friends how she feels about the attention Jin is getting as a “haafu” and why that is problematic. In my sphere, as a teacher, I can challenge assumptions and provide a different viewpoint. Recently my students were surprised to hear that although they have no official religion, they have a worldview shaped by Buddhist thought. (Most were even surprised to hear that they have something called a “worldview.”)

As foreigners, we are in a unique position to encourage Japanese people to see themselves in context and examine their beliefs. We hope, of course, they will find the truth in Christ through this process.

I see now that we are called not only to continue presenting the gospel, but to get rid of what stands in its way. After these untruthful arguments are demolished, we can build the kingdom of God on a firm foundation. We can pave the way for Jin and future generations to know Jesus.