Over the past 18 months I’ve been getting to know Emba Allison who has a passion to pray for the people working or hanging out in the famous red-light district of Kabukicho (including the To-yoko Kids), and trying to make a difference in their lives. I’d like to share with you insights she’s been learning about this dark area of Shinjuku.
It started with a message she heard at an RJC (Reaching Japanese for Christ) conference in 2013 in America
This message by a Japanese pastor serving in suicide prevention work told of the huge spiritual and mental health challenges in Japan. Emba was born in Kenya, but from age 9 lived in the UK where she got an MA in Social Anthropology from the U. of Cambridge. To be able to walk with others through mental health challenges, she also completed a one year counseling certificate course in England. She worked for 13 years in the corporate world in London and Boston, while being active in church ministries serving Asian international students.
In 2011, Emba felt God calling her to serve in Japan and in 2015 joined the mission agency called Japan Christian Link. To deepen her understanding of Japanese culture firsthand, she came to Japan as an English teacher with the JET Program, and taught English for 7 years at public schools from Aomori to Tokyo. As well as teaching, she has served in Japan in mental health ministry, friendship evangelism, gospel choirs, and ministry to the homeless.
Why Kabukicho??
In February 2023, after returning from a visit to Israel, God led Emba and two friends to prayer walk the streets of Tokyo’s Kabukicho, an area all three had never been to, but felt a strong conviction from the Lord to go and pray over. This small step of faith led to many miraculous encounters and seeing the Lord’s love and deep work in one of the darkest places in Japan. Emba’s main ministry is now serving in Kabukicho with several partners, including with a Christian anti-human trafficking NPO. She regularly goes prayer-walking in this area with other ministry partners.
Spiritual Warfare
Emba feels strongly about the presence of demonic strongholds in this area. She has heard from other missionaries who shared information concerning the spirit realm. For example, one saw a vision of “dragons above each city in Japan. Each dragon has its own color, and there is a black dragon in the sky above Tokyo. The black one is the strong one because it represents authority.” It’s significant that there is a shrine in Kabukicho dedicated to Benzaiten, a Buddhist deity adopted into Shintoism as a goddess for protecting women. On the walls of the shrine are paintings of a black dragon and tiger. (In English this Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, water, and wealth is called Saraswati. In Japanese, nightlife work is called “Mizu-shoubai” directly translated as “water business”.)
A Japanese Christian friend of hers has mentioned that looking at the current situation in this area today, we can see the result of worshiping false ‘gods’ like money, drugs, nightlife work, prostitution, alcohol, sexual perversion, violence, etc. These are not unique to Japan, but this area tends to glamorize them.
Emba and others have noticed the statue of the monster Godzilla on top of the movie theater in front of the To-yoko area, which incorporates some elements of dragons, and its color is black. Also, next to the shrine is a brothel named Lucifer. In the Gospel of John, Jesus compared the liar Satan to a thief who has come to steal, kill and destroy, but He has come that people may have abundant life. (From John 8: 44 and 10:10) God gave Emba this last Bible verse (John 10:10) to pray around an area where women stand, soliciting customers. She felt the Lord calling her to regularly prayer walk this particular spot declaring Scripture, similar to how the Israelites were called to march around the city walls of Jericho in Joshua 6:1-27. Emba wants to continue helping people in Kabukicho who have been deceived by lies that sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. can bring prosperity and fulfillment to realize that these are actually chains binding them. She knows the power of Jesus who can set them free and is praying for the strongholds to be broken.
Lights in the Darkness
Emba has encountered various people with a similar vision in these 18 months, for example Kiyo who holds a monthly time of praise, worship and prayer at a Karaoke in Kabukicho. (NFSJ held a Cafe where Kiyo told her amazing story of how God saved her out of the sex industry in Osaka!) And Daichi whose team has been reaching out to To-yoko Kids with praise songs, conversations, praying for them, sometimes seeing them healed. And some Christian cafes in the area, one of which offers free food and a place of refuge 2 nights a week to these teens. And churches in the area, also praying for those working in Kabukicho (one pastored by an ex-yakuza!). These people and ministries are all points of light in this dark place, which Emba feels God is now using to spread the Light and Kingdom of Jesus at this particular time in history, so she’s excited to be a part of it.(Bonnie Jinmon)