When Jehovah’s Witnesses are mentioned, what comes to your mind? Perhaps you can imagine people who strictly follow the principles and laws of the Bible to the point that some are considered extremists. I personally mention this because I was young when I first went to Japan and noticed a huge difference between the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan compared to Brazil, and regardless of their beliefs, when you travel outside your country, your worldview completely changes.
I’m not saying that anyone is better or worse, but the fact that Brazil is a Christian country and Japan is predominantly Buddhist and Shintoist makes the behavior and thinking of Japanese brothers more reasonable and less extreme. Even though the Japanese are extremely dedicated and strict. This contrast is quite interesting.
One of the main reasons I like Japan is that the Japanese strive to be humble, honest, polite, and respectful, and even without any biblical belief, they make an effort to follow a relatively high moral standard. A country where people value knowledge, avoid swear words and sexual slang, and think more of others than of themselves is a perfect home for Christians.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are generally criticized in Brazil for striving to follow high moral standards or for taking biblical principles seriously. Even in a predominantly Christian country, people have lost respect for others’ beliefs, but in fact, I want to say that this was caused by the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brazil themselves.
Note how ridiculous it was for young people to say at school, “My religion doesn’t allow it,” or to tell a friend, “That can’t be done.” Such vague responses ended up harming the social life of many Jehovah’s Witnesses, causing some people to even stop believing in the Bible.
I learned from the Japanese brothers that everyone takes care of their own life, and we don’t need to impose our beliefs on others. We don’t need critical people, but rather people who encourage us, as the world is already full of critics.
Fortunately, nowadays the brothers have been addressing many issues regarding reasonableness, conscience, and personal decision. Jehovah’s Witnesses today are quite different from decades ago, but the damage has been severe, and some brothers are still quite unnecessarily rigid.
I have always enjoyed watching anime, and some brothers teased me about it because they were unfamiliar with it. Unfortunately, people criticize and complain about what they don’t know. Nowadays, most young and adult Jehovah’s Witnesses watch anime.
Imagine my surprise when I arrived in a country where all the brothers know or watch anime without any kind of prejudice? Well, without further ado, let’s talk about my experience in Japan.
Table of Contents
Meeting the Brothers in Japan
Currently, there are more than 18 Portuguese-speaking congregations (or groups) in Japan. The total data for Japan in 2023 is about 214,457 evangelizers, 2,888 congregations, and about 1 Jehovah’s Witness for every 583 inhabitants. There are other congregations in various languages such as Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and English.
Before I traveled to Japan, the brothers in Brazil even mentioned stereotypes to me, asking if the brothers would be cold or if they worked all the time without having time to pay attention to me. If you think that way, you are completely unaware of Japanese culture and hospitality.
They also forgot that 1 in every 5 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan are regular pioneers and dedicate more than 70 hours to preaching. Something impossible for those who work more than 12 hours a day. The Japanese don’t work too much; they are just dedicated to their work and sometimes pressured to do overtime (especially in factories).
Before going to Japan, I always tried to add brothers from there on my Facebook and Instagram. After chatting a bit with them, I got in touch with an Elder in Osaka. Our contact was very limited; he wasn’t online much, and I only mentioned my interest in going to Osaka, and he offered to find brothers who could host me.
I thought I would be lonely since I had very little conversation with the brothers in Japan and went alone with absolutely nothing confirmed. xD
Arriving in Japan and Visiting Bethel
Upon arriving in Japan, I spent about 14 days in Tokyo at a hostel in the Akihabara district. In the second week in Japan, on Wednesday, I went to visit Bethel in the city of Ebina in Kanagawa. The day before, the brother from Osaka mentioned that there would be a guide in Portuguese to give a tour of this headquarters responsible for creating publications not only for Japan but for the whole world.
It seemed like a small place, smaller than the headquarters in Brazil, but it was a huge building with several floors that later seemed much larger to me. An assembly hall is located on the same grounds as Bethel, which seems to occupy a gigantic block.
The city of Ebina seemed very quiet; I arrived too early and took some long walks around the neighborhood. Before the visit, we sat in a reception area to watch a video about the visit. I met some brothers from Yokohama and also foreign sisters who were visiting Bethel.
The brothers from Yokohama invited me to visit their congregation. We took some photos in a place that tells the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan. Then my guide arrived, and we followed a different route. Since I am very forgetful, I left the camera battery at the hotel and had to take a few photos with my cell phone.
Visiting Gunma and Yokohama
In the second week in Tokyo, I was invited to visit a family in Gunma through social media. I went to the Isesaki station where the sister picked me up by car along with other sisters who had just come back from the field. We went to a KFC and then shopping at a huge market called Costco.
For those who think houses in Japan are small, the sister’s house was huge and had 2 floors. We drove for about an hour to the Portuguese congregation that was in another city, then we went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where the food was so much that we couldn’t even finish the size of the portions they brought.
The next morning, I had to return to Tokyo because I promised I would visit the brothers in Yokohama whom I met at Bethel. I located their congregation and went to the place; the station was far, and I had to climb many stairs and even buy a transparent umbrella because it was raining.
The brothers were surprised, and I never received so much attention in my life. One sister even came to me and gave me a 2000 yen note, lol, did she think I was starving? Another sister in a wheelchair kept coming to my place to show the Bible text in Portuguese. After the meeting, we took a photo together, and the brother and others took me out for lunch at Saizeriya.
I don’t even know how we talked so much; my Japanese was limited, and we used a lot of paper to explain some things. Another young brother took me to see one of the highlights of Yokohama, with one of the fastest elevators in the world. Then he took me to a square where scenes from the anime Oreimo took place.
Portuguese Congregation in Osaka
I had been talking to a brother for a long time about how I would be hosted in Osaka. When I went to the city of Osaka, I met the brother in Kyoto, a very funny Japanese from the Portuguese congregation. He let me stay in an apartment for 1 day; the next day at the meeting, I would go to the house of brothers.
The Portuguese congregation in Osaka is very fun; most of the leaders are native Japanese. Some were still learning Portuguese, and you could see their zeal and dedication. The hall had several floors (3, I think), each with a congregation. There were other foreign language congregations in the place, I think a total of 12 congregations in one hall.
I stayed at the house of a young couple to go on a special field outing, where several congregations of different languages gathered to look for foreigners. We spent the whole day looking for foreigners; we went into buildings and checked the mailboxes to see if there were any families with foreign names.
We even went into a shopping mall and had lunch at a conveyor belt sushi place. I remember going out with brothers from the Chinese congregation. That night I went to the house of the brother who would host me for a few days; he was very funny and took me to various interesting places in Osaka.
Another Brazilian who lived in Hamamatsu stayed at this house; he was also very nice. One night we visited Namba Dotonbori, a very famous tourist spot for informal witnessing. We were dressed in normal clothes like jeans, even though in Japan wearing formal clothes is extremely common.
We approached foreign tourists and talked about normal things, took photos, and tried to speak their language. Only at the end, after a lot of random conversation, did we leave a brochure. It was a very busy yet peaceful place at the same time.
On Saturday, we visited several tourist spots and then went to the meeting. On Sunday, we went out in the field in the morning, visiting just one building where there was a Brazilian who had studied before. We spent hours talking, and the resident even paid for a snack with chocolate from the vending machine. The field was just that; then we visited a famous tomb in Osaka and had soba for lunch.
The Rest of the Trip in Osaka
After that, I would stay at another brother’s house, so I had to look for a gift. As part of Japanese culture, we should always bring a gift when visiting someone’s house. I bought a kind of stuffed bear that cleans the floor for the child to crawl on the ground while cleaning the house. I spent the rest of my stay at this family’s house, which had 2 children.
They were very nice; the lady of the house always stood at the door waving goodbye until I disappeared from sight every time I left. One day I went to Hamamatsu to visit the brother who had been touring Osaka. It was one of the most fun days, where I went to an airbase, had a yakiniku barbecue, and visited the onsen hot springs (I detailed my trip to Hamamatsu here).
On Saturday, we went to another city (Shiga) where the brother I contacted before going to Japan would give a talk. There, I stayed at the house of a Brazilian elderly couple. It was great; the sister works with chiropractic and adjusted my back; she also had giant and beautiful cats. The next day, the brother took me for a traditional breakfast where there was rice and even fish.
In all the houses I stayed, breakfast was phenomenal. It wasn’t just a traditional bread with coffee, but there was tuna, miso soup, juice, yogurt, sausage, ham, and mozzarella. There were many options, and it felt like a feast; I can’t say if it was just because I was a guest.
What the Brothers in Japan Are Like
Of course, I am just summarizing how my association with the brothers was during my 30-day trip. It was an incredible experience; there really are no differences between the brothers around the world. They were very warm and playful, patient and fun. I asked various questions to the brothers there and noticed some things.
They are much more reasonable and carefree. It was great to live in an environment where I could discuss Japanese animations without brothers creating stereotypes and wrong ideas. They even said that there was no problem visiting some tourist spots like the famous Golden Pavilion in Kyoto (kinkaku-ji).
They also mentioned that they never had that thought of danger in buying used things and their provenance. The most common thing in Japan is buying used items, which apparently look new. The brothers took me to various stores where I bought manga and used stuff. (The association also shares the same opinion: no problem).
They also watch sports games in stadiums and visit places that some might question in Brazil. I even understand, since the environment of places in Brazil is totally different and disorganized compared to Japan. And even if this bothers some, their culture doesn’t seem to like to interfere in others’ lives and gossip behind their backs.
This contrast between individualism and teamwork that both the Japanese in general and the brothers in Japan follow is amazing. I noticed that the Japanese live a simple life without wanting big things and find joy in simple things. If you follow a Japanese brother on Instagram, you will notice through random live streams or talking about a certain product or the photos of animals and landscapes.
I wanted to talk a bit more about what I remember, but I didn’t have enough time and I don’t want to identify people’s lives without permission. I can conclude that the brothers in Japan are simple, very loving, and hospitable. I can’t wait to go back and travel for 3 months or maybe even stay there permanently…
PS: I asked several brothers in Japan, that experience of the sister who lost her finger because of the Father and the Yakuza is a lie!
We recommend reading:
Leave a Reply