Most Japanese people are avid readers and many Japanese Christians testify to the role played by Christian literature in their journey to faith. Our aim is to provide Bibles and a range of books in Japanese, which introduce the Christian message in a way that is culturally relevant and easy to understand. We also stock books in English for those interested in God’s work among Japanese. Contact us through our website or by e-mail or phone to request further information or advice.

There are a number of helpful resources in Japanese which you can use to share the gospel with your Japanese friends and colleagues. Here are a few suggestions.

Japanese Bibles & Bible Portions

Which version? The Shinkaiyaku version is a standard translation, which is widely used in evangelical churches in Japan. It was first published in 1970 and subsequently revised in 1978, 2004 and 2017. The Living Bible is a paraphrase, which aims to make the meaning of the text easier for modern readers to understand. It is not often used in corporate worship, but could be a good one to start with for people who have never read the Bible before.

Buying for a friend? If you are buying a Bible or New Testament for someone who has never read it before, you might like to consider giving them a copy of Miura Ayako’s Introduction to the Old Testament or Introduction to the New Testament. These are wonderful books which give beginners the confidence to begin reading the Bible for themselves.

Looking for a short tract?  There are many short tracts which seek to share the gospel in an attractive way with Japanese enquirers in just a few pages.  Do please take a look at the selection which we carry in our shop to see if any of these catch your eye.  While tracts can be useful, in our experience there is really no substitute for personal one-to-one discussions and witness to Japanese people.  We would recommend using tracts as a supplement to your personal work of befriending and witness.  

Looking for an app?  You can obtain immediate access to the Bible in Japanese on your smartphone or tablet through an app. The latest version of the Shinkaiyaku Bible is now available on both iOS and Android app stores. Please see this web page for instructions (Japanese only). Alternatively search on the relevant app store for 聖書 新改訳 第3版. The app costs £ 23.99 (or equivalent in your currency).  

Here are links to the apps on iOS (in the Apple App store) and Android (Google Play) - again both in Japanese.

Free downloads of the Bible are available from the YouVersion website, which offers apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Kindle Fire. This app offers five Japanese Bible versions including: Alive Bible; the Colloquial Japanese version (口語訳; kōgoyaku 1955); the Japanese Living Bible (リビングバイブル; JLB 1977); and New Interconfessional Translation - shinkyōdōyaku (聖書新共同訳).

Where can I buy these?

Armed with all this information you are ready to take a look at our online shop.  We have set this up with a number of filters, so you should be able to see just the items you are looking for.  You can access either the full list of everything in alphabetical order of title or use the filters at the top to limit your view to items which might be of interest, for example this view of Japanese Bibles or this one of bilingual Bible study texts (very handy if you want to talk your friend through one or more Bible studies).  Enjoy browsing our shop and please don't hesitate to contact us if you need more detailed help or advice, we would be delighted to assist you.