Translation Landscape

Existing Japanese Bible translations

Shinkaiyaku 2017 (新改訳2017), the most recent revision of the evangelical-standard “New Japanese Bible,” is this Language Package’s baseline for established theological vocabulary. Shinkyoudouyaku (新共同訳), a Catholic-Protestant joint translation, is common in ecumenical and some mainline contexts but uses somewhat different vocabulary choices in places; this package does not follow it. Older Bungoyaku (文語訳), a classical-literary-register translation from the early 20th century, remains historically significant but is too archaic in register for this curriculum’s target audience.

Where existing translations fall short for this curriculum

• No settled glossary for teaching against secular dilution: Shinkaiyaku translates Scripture itself and can rely on surrounding context to carry doctrinal weight for a word like 復活 (resurrection) or 契約 (covenant); a teaching curriculum for a largely secular audience has to actively work to restore the doctrinal weight these words have lost to everyday pop-culture and commercial usage.
• Assumes more background than a secular reader has: existing Japanese Bible translations are written for readers with at least some church exposure; this curriculum’s audience skews far more biblically illiterate, requiring more first-principles explanation than the translation text itself provides.
• Historical-political vocabulary requires generational bridging: terms like 神の国 carry associations for older readers (via State Shinto history) that younger, more secular readers won’t have — existing translations don’t address this gap since it’s a teaching/explanation issue, not a translation issue.

Readiness assessment

Japanese is in an unusual position for this curriculum: a century-plus of settled, careful evangelical Bible translation (Shinkaiyaku) has produced doctrinally sound vocabulary, but the surrounding society’s biblical literacy is low enough that vocabulary correctness alone does not guarantee comprehension. The translation task here is as much about restoring meaning to correct-but-hollowed-out words as it is about avoiding wrong ones.