Buddhism spread from India to China , Korea, and Japan .
When a Koran king sent the Japanese emperor a statue of the Buddha and a recommendation for the new religion in 525. This event is thinking about the official introduction of Buddhism to Japan.
Former Buddhism reached Japan in different ways and many Japanese people at that time , disliking Buddhism ideas and believing that this new religion might be an affront to the traditional kami or spirits and gods, opposed Buddhism’s ideas.
Shinto is primarily found in Japan, it is Japan’s largest religion, the second being Buddhism.
Really Japan has two major religions, Shinto and Buddhism .
Most Japanese accept themselves as Buddhist, Shintoist, or Both. Religion does not play a big role in the everyday life of most Japanese people today
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I agree with you. The Government of Japan (2018) reported that the religions in Japan stated 69% Shintoism, 66.7% Buddhism, 1.5% Christianity and 6.2% as others. Many Japanese practice Shintoism together with Buddhism. That is why the total is more than 100%. However, research conducted by NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute (October to November 2018) reflected that religious faith is weakening in Japan. This is perhaps because religion does not seem to play such a big role in the everyday life of Japanese people anymore, as mentioned in the forum.
Cultural Atlas reported that more than half of Japanese people nowadays do not believe in any religion (62%) although most Japanese people still follow some Shinto rituals. For instance, they worship ancestors and spirits at altars and public shrines. The latest report (as of 12 March 2022) estimated by Countrymeters (based on Pew Research Center) stated that 57% of Japan population are Religiously Unaffiliated, 36.2% are Buddhism, 4.6% are others, 1.6% are Christianity, 0.4% are folk or traditional religions, and 0.2% are Islam.
This shows tremendous change in religious faith by the Japanese within a short time.