“Japanese people are kind and polite—but that also makes me feel pressure to act the same way all the time.”
“Japanese people are hard to read. They’re like eggs!
Hard on the outside, but soft and runny on the inside.”
(At first they seem closed off, but once you become close, they’re incredibly kind-hearted.)
These were some of the honest voices shared by international students during a panel discussion at the Japan ISM Summit.
As I listened, I found myself nodding along in agreement—and at the same time sighing, thinking, yes… that’s complicated.
Even as a Japanese person, I’ve sometimes felt suffocated by aspects of Japanese culture—its beauty and its difficulty often going hand in hand.
As someone who sends returnees back to Japan, this is something I’m especially mindful of when walking alongside future returnees—helping them prepare and gently “land” back into life in Japan.
After getting used to the “comfortable looseness” of life overseas, the flexibility of handling things on the fly, and cultures where people express their thoughts more directly,
re-adjusting to Japanese culture—even though it’s the country I was born and raised in—can feel surprisingly hard.
“Japan protects freedom of religion, which is wonderful.
But because it’s harder for groups to be labeled as cults,
for someone like me—whose first language isn’t Japanese—it’s honestly very difficult to tell the difference between cults and cult-like churches.”
Hearing this, I realized it’s exactly the same concern shared by everyone involved in returnee ministry.
In another panel discussion, we heard from pastors of local churches in Japan. They shared real stories about Japan’s increasing immigrant population and what’s actually happening on the ground.
Sadly, because of language and cultural barriers, many foreign residents in Japan are misunderstood—and sometimes even treated as a burden.
Conflicts are not uncommon.
(Sounds familiar, right? Yes—Japanese people living overseas experience this too, in one way or another.)
One local church, in particular, deeply moved me. They are working closely with local government to serve as a bridge between foreign residents and Japanese citizens.
When helping others, they don’t speak in childish Japanese, but in what they call “easy Japanese”—speaking slowly, clearly, and all the way to the end.
This church isn’t especially large.
They don’t have many people with overseas experience.
And they don’t have English speakers either.
Yet, churches in Japan still carry “fossilized” church language—terms that have been used for decades and wouldn’t even make sense to most Japanese people.
This church takes time to think together: How can we rephrase these words so they actually communicate?
They work as a community to find language that foreign residents can truly understand.
This isn’t just relevant to returnee support—it’s something all of us Christians should wrestle with as we try to share God’s love with the 99% of Japanese people who are non-Christians.
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Returnees are people who have hit walls overseas—experiencing frustration, sadness, and pain.
They are also people who have been helped by locals, who know what it feels like to finally breathe again.
Because we are returnees, second- or third-generation immigrants, or TCKs (Third Culture Kids),
maybe we’re the ones who can naturally reach out when we see a foreign resident in need—without hesitation.
Many Japanese living overseas have experienced kindness from locals—sometimes so much it almost felt intrusive.
Words spoken at just the right moment when everything felt blocked.
Home-cooked meals shared when homesickness was creeping in.
Because of those experiences, Japanese Christians who have lived abroad may be especially well-positioned to actively support foreign residents in Japan.
You don’t need special qualifications.
Just speaking Japanese and empathizing with someone’s feelings can be a huge help to international students and foreign residents.
One student also shared,
“I want to be friends with Japanese people, but all my friends end up being other international students. It’s really hard to make Japanese friends.”
And then there was this:
“In Japan, Christmas isn’t a public holiday.
Between work, school, and church… I don’t know how I’m supposed to spend it.”
During this Christmas season, we remember Immanuel—God who came into this world to be with us, to be our friend.
When we see international students or foreign residents, maybe we can start by simply saying hello.
By choosing to become friends.
By inviting them to church and spending time together.
That’s something all of us can begin doing. 😊
＜＜Photo Gallery@Japan ISM Summit＞＞
Team JCFN, coming together from Tokyo (Japan), Utah (USA), and London (UK)!
@ Japan ISM Summit
People involved in international student ministry gathered from all over the world—
the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and across Japan.
Many more people from ministries across Japan and around the world attended—far too many to introduce here.
Finally got to meet Makito Miyashita from the Samurai Project.
A university student who returned to Japan from ECCJ London,
Kelly from KGK Hyogo—thank you so much for all your support.
And Izumi-san from Canada.
And a joyful reunion with Eugene—whom I hadn’t seen since ECCJ in the UK—
after his Oxford study-abroad experience during COVID, now faithfully serving as a missionary in Japan.
Report by Chisato Tateyama (JCFN Associate Staff in London, UK)
