“Reading the air” (kūki o yomu, 空気を読む) is a Japanese phrase which is similar to the English phrase “reading between the lines.” It means to be situationally aware and attentive to the thoughts, feelings, and needs of the people around you without the need for verbal expression. You need to guess the thoughts or feelings of others through their face expression, speech, and body actions otherwise you will be considered impolite, or even invading people’s privacy.
Our church held a “Miso Day” event, where members invited friends and family to make miso (soybean paste) together and take the opportunity to share the gospel with them. At the request of my Japanese pastor I was invited to give a gospel talk at the event. I prepared the sermon, including a call to believe in Christ, and handed it to my pastor. He expressed concern that it would not be a good fit for our Japanese audience.
In my country, after evangelistic sermons, it is customary to call people to make a decision of faith, even for first-time church attendees. They are called to believe in Jesus and receive salvation. However, in Japanese culture, religious faith is considered private. I discovered it is usually considered impolite to be directly called to faith by a speaker you’ve just met, and even asking a guest after a meeting if they have made a decision is considered disrespectful. This is to avoid putting pressure on non-believers and failing to “read the air” because you haven’t noted the feelings of the others.
However, this makes following up on a guest’s faith status difficult. Sometimes, people are unable to make a decision after hearing the gospel simply because they have some doubts. Follow-up could help dispel their doubts and ultimately lead them to believe in Jesus, but we need to be wise in doing follow-up in Japan.
Please pray that God will help missionaries and pastors in Japan to “read the air.” Pray we’ll be able to call people to believe in Jesus at the right time. For God tells us in his Word: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:9–10 NIV).
By an OMF missionary
