10 Years Japan losses 5,400 Publishers and 638 Kingdom Halls! Why?

Japan had a handful of Witnesses after WW 2....this number skyrocketed to 222,912 by 1998!  Then something happened.  Publisher figures didn't stop, they dropped by thousands over the next decade!

1998 - Publishers Peak       222,912                               Congs.  3,802

EIGHT YEARS LATER----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2006 - Publisher decline     217,519  {Loss -5,357}       Congs. 3,164  {loss of -638}

Basically no growth in 10 years with huge losses about an entire "District."  Any ideas why?  What made the Japanese who had 20-30% Increase each year for decades, drop off for the last 10 years?

It's been argued that basically Japan is still very honor based and when you give your word you make good on it.  The generation change was essentially saying "you know how we said we had truth all those years, well we didn't and we lied to you."  This was a great dishonor and the Japanese didn't want to be associated with an organization who was dishonorable.

That could be the reason, or it might be something else.  Anyone else have a theory?

I suspect (although I could be wrong) that if you removed the foreign language numbers from the US you would find something similar although not quite as drastic in the US

The loss is much more, since we don't know the actual numbers of publishers because the WT counts unbaptized and baptized JW's. Just count the bible studies over this 10 years, the numbers that got baptized, add them in the total number and you will see that the have lost much more....

10 Years Japan losses 5,400 Publishers and 638 Kingdom Halls! Why?

Bad sushi at the Assembly?

BTS

I wonder how much the Internet has to do with it.  In Japan, people are up to their eyeballs in technology, and thus are more likely to have that evil Internet to start apostate forums and discussions (and to land on them).  In turn, many studies land on apostate web sites and discontinue the study, and many witlesses that thought it was the truth also land on apostate web sites and realize that it is not the truth.

That the number of congregations is falling, is not important. It happens all over the world and is not a proof that the number of JWs is falling, it is rationalising, making the organization more effective etc. Smaller congregations are joined up to form bigger ones, and so they do not have to live with 2-3-4 elders, but can have 10-12.

That the number of JWs is falling, is something else. I think some 10 years ago, the branch overseer was df'ed, and that might have stirred things up. There has been a pressure for years on pioneering, and when thousands pioneer for years and nothing happens in terms of the arrival of the end - then fatigue and distrust might lead to a falling away.

Perhaps Possible San can help with this one.

Don't forget to factor in that the Japanese encourage EDUCATION to their young ones. 
Every good JW knows that education helps a young JW to abandon "the truth."

We don't see the Society bragging about Japan anymore and how hard they're

working and how "Jehovah" is blessing their hard work.

Remember who died in 1999, ten years ago when the decrease in the flock started? GB member, Lloyd Barry.

Until Lloyd came to Brooklyn Bethel in 1974, he was Japan's Branch Overseer for many years. The Japanese loved their connection to him and he was the major reason thousands of them came to Brooklyn on tour, or so I was told. In fact, one of the senior writers commented that the reason for the high percentage of pioneers in Japan was Lloyd Barry. They were so proud to have him as one of the GB and wanted to please him. (Remember the Japanese have a high propensity for worshipping leaders.) Lloyd often went to Japan even after he became a GB member to see the faithful. After his death, without this GB link to God, it is no surprise that the Japanese began to fall away from the faith.

Andersoninfo thanks interesting forgot about Lloyd's death!  Almost like Emperor worship continued in Japan after WW 2!

Are there any areas of the planet that they do brag about their growth...in the US it seems to be only the non-English speaking congos......

My wife said that in the congo she is attending here, there are no teenagers at all........

Japan is propably emptied of "fish". It does not get better the more hours they spend in preaching.

Hi, AndersonsInfo.

I am a Japanese ex- Jehovah's Witness.

In fact, one of the senior writers commented that the reason for the high percentage of pioneers in Japan was Lloyd Barry.

I think that it is not the fact although I think that you have freedom of speech.

When I became a Jehovah's Witness in 1983, Mr. Lloyd Barry was not the overseer of the Japan branch.
(He was the overseer till January, 1975.)

Since it is the 1980s that the number of JWs increased in Japan, many Japanese JWs do not necessarily feel familiarity for him specially.

Rather, many Japanese Jehovah's Witnesses respected Mr. Masataro Oda who became the next overseer from 1983.
That is because he was modest.
He died in the accident in 2004.

possible
http://godpresencewithin.blog86.fc2.com/

"Possible San"  WHY do you think people in your country are leaving the Witnesses?

"Don't forget to factor in that the Japanese encourage EDUCATION to their young ones. 
Every good JW knows that education helps a young JW to abandon "the truth." "

--OTWO

I think Jerry brings up a good point. In a culture that has so much pressure to succeed and make money, it's becoming increasingly difficult to sell that anti-college message. Also we must remember that Japan is a very secular nation; even Christian missionaries are having a tough time there. It's not easy to say "We're better than this type of Christianity" when there isn't a suitable comparison.

Internet on cell phones.

This has been asked before and it was felt a main reason is the significant downturn in the Japanese economy. When Japan was the world's economic powerhouse and times were booming, they had huge numbers of pioneers. With economic growth dropping off and unemployment soaring, the publisher and pioneer growth went into reverse. So basically the publisher numbers has more or less matched their economic cycles.