Second World War , the first President of the UCCJ Upon promulgation of the
Religious Organizations Law that forced the merger of all the Protestant churches in Japan to unite, 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. While the 1954
Confession of Faith, a
doctrinal statement, clarified the postwar church's identity (there are debates and disputes about this), 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, 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==