John de Goto was born into a Christian family on one of the islands of the Goto Archipelago on 1578. When the ruler of his homeland began persecuting Christians, John's family moved to Nagasaki. John attended the Jesuit school there, and was trained as a catechist. Around 1573, he asked to enter the Society of Jesus, and was asked to assist a missionary priest as a catechist. The day before his execution, John made his vows as a Jesuit. He was nineteen years old, when he died by crucifixion.

John de Goto was beatified by Pope Urban VIII on September 15, 1627, and canonized by Pope Pius XI on July 8, 1862.