The United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ; Nihon Kirisuto Kyōdan, or Kyōdan for short) is the largest Protestant denomination in Japan. It is a union of thirty-three diverse Protestant denominations forcibly merged by the Japanese wartime government on 24 June 1941. The UCCJ, which is a Japanese Independent Church, is a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC).
Currently, as of 2024, the church has around 152,074 members in 1626 active congregations and preaching stations, served by, as of 31 March 2025, 1,796 active ministers and evangelists.『日本基督教団年鑑2026第76巻』（日本基督教団事務局、2025）218-219頁. The number of active ministers and evangelists includes academic faculty at seminaries and theological colleges; teachers at Christian schools, staff at Kyodan headquarters and bureaus of districts that are ordained and have licenses to preach, etc.
History
Second World War
Upon promulgation of the Religious Organizations Law that attempted to force the merger of all of the Protestant churches in Japan, a declaration of church unity was made at a mass meeting of Christians from all parts of Japan on 17 October 1940. The Kyōdan was established at a Founding General Assembly held at the Fujimicho Church (founded by Uemura Masahisa) on 24–25 June 1941.
After 1945 With the establishment of religious freedom by the Allied Occupation Forces in 1946, many groups left the Kyōdan to reestablish their prewar denominational identities. The most significant departures were the Anglican Church in Japan, the Japan Lutheran Church, Japan Baptist Convention, Japan Holiness Church, Japan Assemblies of God, Reformed Church in Japan (the Reformed Church in Japan did not exist as a denomination in the prewar era) plus numerous smaller evangelical churches.
After the 1970s The controversy had both theological and non-theological roots, some tending back into an earlier period. The union's wartime origin and the church's self-acknowledged complicity in the war were called into question.The UCCJ was formally established in June 1941. While the 1954 Confession of Faith, a doctrinal statement, clarified the postwar church's identity (there are debates and disputes about thise.g.日本基督教団宣教研究所教団史編纂室（編）『日本基督教団史資料集 第3巻』（日本基督教団出版局、1998）173頁), many cite the 1967 Confession of Responsibility During World War II as recovering the church's integrity, by openly dealing with the church's wartime role.
As of March 31 2025, seven ordained UCCJ missionaries serve in six overseas lands in a variety of ministries『日本基督教団年鑑2026第76巻』（日本基督教団事務局、2025）219，436頁, a heritage begun when the first postwar missionary was sent to Brazil in 1957.
United Church of Christ in Japan permits openly gay and lesbian pastors to act as ministers.
Seminaries and theological colleges Source: Tokyo Union Theological Seminary 東京神学大学 Doshisha University School of Theology 同志社大学神学部 Kwansei Gakuin University School of Theology 関西学院大学神学部 東京聖書学校 日本聖書神学校 農村伝道神学校
Notable members Ryuichi Doi – politician, pastor Kenji Goto – journalist beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, 31 January 2015 Shigeru Ishiba – 65th Prime Minister of Japan Kazoh Kitamori – theologian, pastor, author, professor Hideyo Noguchi – prominent bacteriologist Masao Takenaka – theologian, professor, author Manabu Waida – historian, theologian, professor, pastor, author
References
External links
UCCJ website