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

by Witness 007 88 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Witness 007

  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?
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  Tuesday

  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?
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  Alligator Wisdom

  2008 Yearbook = 3,177 congregations. 2009 Yearbook = 3,177 congregations. No additions, no subtractions. Makes me wonder...

  Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously)
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  leftbelow

  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
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  JustHuman14

  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....
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  BurnTheShips

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

  Bad sushi at the Assembly?

  BTS
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  WTWizard

  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.
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  TheOldHippie

  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.
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  passwordprotected

  Perhaps Possible San can help with this one.
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  OnTheWayOut

  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."