Deaf volunteer Yeux Bleu of Senegal shares the gospel with two Deaf Japanese women at the 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan.

IMB Trustee Pam Wittenbach shares the gospel with a Japanese volunteer at the 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, Japan.

A view from inside the skyline of Tokyo, Japan. While the population of Japan is over 120 million, only 0.3% are evangelical believers. The Japanese people are in desperate need of spiritual freedom from fear, shame, apathy, and loneliness. IMB Photo

Cherry blossoms in bloom form canopies of beauty over neighborhoods in Japan. Though Japanese people are often considered hard-to-reach with the gospel, IMB missionaries are willing to plant their lives among them for the sake of Christ. IMB Photo

IMB missionaries Carlton and Cornelia Walker walk through a busy shopping center in Japan. After more than four decades in Japan, they understand well the Japanese way of life. IMB Photo

Steven Kunkel, newly appointed missionary, displays his Japanese bible after the IMB Sending Celebration at Swift Creek Baptist Church in Midlothian, Virginia. IMB Photo

In college, Natalie Nation realized that God could use her skills and passion for swimming to impact places where few are choosing to follow Christ. She is headed to Yokohama to serve Japanese college students as a swim coach. IMB Photo

“Our hearts ache for the Japanese people, my people,” Hiromi Price said. She and her husband, Rick, are headed back to Japan, this time as missionaries, “so that Heaven will be more crowded with Japanese,” they said. IMB Photo

Hanami parties are a tradition in Japan when the cherry blossoms bloom. Michaela and Justin Knippers picnic with some Japanese friends in Tennoji Park. The couple attended several Hanami parties to celebrate spring. IMB Photo

Justin and Michaela Knippers, IMB missionaries, use virtual reality as part of their ministry in Japan. The couple meet up with Japanese and others from around the world in VRChat and have gospel conversations that lead to “in real life”relationships with God. Japan is a hotspot for virtual reality. IMB Photo

Bryan and Whitney Jackson will use their heart for the world’s largest unreached people group – the Japanese – to continue serving in Japan. IMB Photo

A view from inside the skyline of Tokyo, Japan. While the population of Japan is over 120 million, only 0.3% are evangelical believers. The Japanese people are in desperate need of spiritual freedom from fear, shame, apathy, and loneliness. IMB Photo

Missionary physician Bill Wallace stayed in China throughout World War II and led the staff of Stout Memorial Hospital in Wuchow in a heroic evacuation when the Japanese attacked. After his selfless service in China from 1935 to 1951, he died in a Communist prison cell.

“The [volunteers wearing] yellow shirts came to my door…. Their attitude was ‘thank you for letting us serve you.’ I was really surprised at their servant heart,” said Nobuko Tanno,
a Japanese woman who received help from Southern Baptists. Volunteers Floyd Hansen (left) and Chris Baker, members of Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Missouri, spent two weeks in Ishinomaki, Japan, rebuilding homes destroyed by the 2011 tsunami.

Missionary Rex Ray served in China more than 30 years. Something of an adventurer, he was known for some of his daring exploits which included running Japanese blockades by boat during the war with Japan in order to get medicines needed at the Stout Memorial Hospital in Wuchow.

Missionary Rex Ray served in China more than 30 years. Something of an adventurer, he was known for some of his daring exploits which included running Japanese blockades by boat during the war with Japan in order to get medicines needed at the Stout Memorial Hospital in Wuchow.

Yoko Dorsey, a Japanese Christian, leads a Tokyo Baptist Church team as they distribute food and supplies to residents of Ishinomaki, Japan, one of the cities hit by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Ed Jordan, IMB missionary to Deaf Japanese in Kyoto, Japan, signs with a Deaf resident of Ishinomaki, Japan, during a Southern Baptist and Christian Relief Assistance Support and Hope distribution of food in a neighborhood severely damaged by the
March 11, 2011 tsunami.

Shukuko Sasaki points to a photo of the Kamaishi fishing port. Her husband, a fisherman, and her parents, were killed by the tsunami. She remembers them every day by kneeling before the family shrine containing photos of the deceased and offerings to bring them comfort in the afterlife.
Following an ancient Japanese custom, Sasaki folds origami paper cranes in remembrance of her deceased family members. In Japan, cranes are considered holy animals. This custom is believed to bring good luck. Sasaki wishes for “comfort and peace.”

Shukuko Sasaki points to a photo of the Kamaishi fishing port. Her husband, a fisherman, and her parents, were killed by the tsunami. She remembers them every day by kneeling before the family shrine containing photos of the deceased and offerings to bring them comfort in the afterlife.
Following an ancient Japanese custom, Sasaki folds origami paper cranes in remembrance of her deceased family members. In Japan, cranes are considered holy animals. This custom is believed to bring good luck. Sasaki wishes for “comfort and peace.”

A Japanese woman looks over a balcony in Sensō-ji temple in Tokyo, Japan.