View source for Japan Lutheran Church

{{Short description|Japanese confessional Lutheran denomination}}
{{Infobox Christian denomination
| name = Japan Lutheran Church
|native_name=日本ルーテル教団 Nihon Ruteru Kyoudan|native_name_lang=ja| image = Japan Lutheran Church logo.png
| imagewidth = 64px
| caption = Logo of the JLC
| main_classification = [[Protestant]]
| orientation = [[Confessional Lutheran]]
| polity = [[congregationalist polity|Congregationalist]]
| founder = 
| founded_date = September 19, 1948
| founded_place = [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]]
| separated_from = 
| leader/moderator =
| leader = Rev. Shin SHIMIZU
| branched_from = [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]]
| merger = 
| separations = 
| fellowships = 
| associations = [[International Lutheran Council]], [[Lutheran World Federation]]
| area = [[Japan]]
| hospitals = 
| nursing_homes = 
| aid = 
| congregations = 35
| members = 766 baptized
| ministers = 
| missionaries =
| temples =
| primary_schools = 
| secondary_schools = 
| tertiary = 
| footnotes = 
}}

The {{nihongo|'''Japan Lutheran Church'''|日本ルーテル教団|''Nihon Ruteru Kyoudan''}} or '''NRK''' (based on its [[Romaji]] initials) is a [[confessional Lutheran]] denomination in [[Japan]].  It currently has approximately 766 [[Lutheranism#Baptism|baptized]] members<ref>[https://www.lutheranworld.org/country/japan LWF Statistics - Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064626/https://www.lutheranworld.org/country/japan |date=2018-02-03 }} The Lutheran World Federation</ref> in 35 congregations nationwide.<ref>International Lutheran Council: [http://www.ilc-online.org/pages/default.asp?NavID=20 Member] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617230249/http://www.ilc-online.org/pages/default.asp?NavID=20 |date=2007-06-17 }} – Japan Lutheran Church</ref>

The current chairman of the NRK is Rev. Shinri Emoto.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jlc.or.jp/nrk/jlc/chair.html |title=Room of Chairman |access-date=2024-06-05 |archive-date=2017-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305013551/http://www.jlc.or.jp/nrk/jlc/chair.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History==

During the [[occupation of Japan]] by the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] after the [[Second World War]], several [[United States Army Chaplain Corps|US Army chaplains]] affiliated with the [[Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod]] (LCMS) were serving the local population. Discussions were held with representatives from the [[Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church]] (JELC) as well as other churches on mission work in post-war Japan. With the information gathered, the LCMS came to the conclusion that they should send missionaries to northern Japan where the Lutheran presence was scarce in order to avoid redundancies among the various Lutheran churches and missions operating in Japan and a resolution was adopted accordingly.

In September 1948, the LCMS installed the first missionary to Japan and declared the start of the Japan Mission, in accordance with the resolution adopted. With the passing of the {{nihongo|Broadcast Law|放送法|Hōsō Hō}} in 1950 legalising commercial and private broadcasting, ''[[The Lutheran Hour]]'' radio program started broadcasting in 1951.

The NRK was officially recognised as a religious body in Japan in 1953. Cooperation with the JELC remained close and in the same year, the NRK-established School of Theology was merged with JELC's Lutheran Theological Seminary. In 1966, both the NRK and the JELC came into [[full communion]] with the adoption of the Establishment of Pulpit and Altar Fellowship and the Agreement on Cooperation in Theological Education agreements. This opened the door for the NRK's participation in activities organised by the [[Lutheran World Federation]] (LWF). In 1968, the self-governing NRK was established and it became self-supporting in 1976.

In 1997, the NRK sent a delegation to the LWF's Assembly in [[Hong Kong]] and became an associate member of the LWF in 1999. Prior to that, the NRK had already been a full member of the confessional [[International Lutheran Council]] that was constituted in 1993.<ref>Japan Lutheran Church [http://www.jlc.or.jp/main/nrk_e.html Who We Are] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526120543/http://www.jlc.or.jp/main/nrk_e.html |date=2008-05-26 }}</ref>

In 2021, the NRK amended its constitution to allow women to be ordained as pastors. As a result of that and other differences in doctrinal issues, the LCMS, at its 2023 convention, declared that it was no longer in fellowship with the NRK.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Block |first=Mathew |date=2023-08-10 |title=LCMS convention celebrates fellowship with five church bodies |url=https://ilc-online.org/2023/08/10/lcms-convention-celebrates-fellowship-with-five-church-bodies/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=[[International Lutheran Council]]}}</ref>

==Structure and organization==

The NRK is structured with a [[congregational]] polity.

===Congregations by geographical regions===

*[[Hokkaidō]]
:*[[Hokkaidō]]
::Congregations in the cities of [[Asahikawa, Hokkaidō|Asahikawa]], [[Ebetsu, Hokkaidō|Ebetsu]], [[Fukagawa, Hokkaidō|Fukagawa]], [[Kitami, Hokkaidō|Kitami]], [[Otaru, Hokkaidō|Otaru]], [[Sapporo]], and [[Suttsu, Hokkaidō|Suttsu]]
*[[Tōhoku region|Tōhoku]]
:*[[Fukushima Prefecture|Fukushima]]
::Congregations in the cities of [[Fukushima, Fukushima|Fukushima]]
*[[Kantō region|Kantō]]
:*[[Gunma Prefecture|Gunma]]
::A congregation in the city of [[Tatebayashi, Gunma|Tatebayashi]]
:*[[Saitama Prefecture|Saitama]]
::Congregations in the cities of [[Hannō, Saitama|Hannō]] and [[Saitama, Saitama|Saitama]]
:*[[Chiba Prefecture|Chiba]]
::A congregation in the city of [[Funabashi, Chiba|Funabashi]]
:*[[Tokyo]]
::Congregations in the wards of [[Adachi, Tokyo|Adachi]], [[Chiyoda, Tokyo|Chiyoda]], [[Minato, Tokyo|Minato]], [[Ōta, Tokyo|Ōta]] and [[Suginami, Tokyo|Suginami]] as well as the city of [[Hino, Tokyo|Hino]]
:*[[Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa]]
::Congregations in [[Fujisawa, Kanagawa|Fujisawa]], [[Kawasaki, Kanagawa|Kawasaki]], and [[Yokohama]]
*[[Chūbu region|Chūbu]]
:*[[Niigata Prefecture|Niigata]]
::Congregations in the cities of [[Nagaoka, Niigata|Nagaoka]], [[Niigata, Niigata|Niigata]], [[Sanjō, Niigata|Sanjō]], and [[Shibata, Niigata|Shibata]]
*[[Kyūshū region|Kyūshū]]
:*[[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]]
::A congregation in the village of [[Nakagusuku, Okinawa|Nakagusuku]]

==Ministries==

Education is emphasized as a means of communicating the [[Gospel]]. Accordingly, the NRK operates Urawa Lutheran School in [[Urawa-ku, Saitama|Urawa]] and Holy Hope School in [[Hannō, Saitama|Hannō]]. The NRK also operates the [[Japan Lutheran College]] in cooperation with the JELC and several members of the NRK sit on the college's board of regents. The NRK also operates eleven kindergartens, four preschools, an elementary school, two middle schools, two secondary schools, and a Japanese and English Language Institute (both as the Lutheran Language Institute).<ref>Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod World Mission: [http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=5864 Mission Work in Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503024905/http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=5864 |date=2009-05-03 }}</ref>

The Volunteer Youth Ministry (VYM) program for lay missionaries through LCMS World Mission who committed themselves for 2½ years in ministry serving as English language teachers. Most of the volunteers were young college graduates.<ref>Japan Lutheran Church [http://www.jlc.or.jp/main/vym_e.html Volunteer Youth Ministry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080419045149/http://www.jlc.or.jp/main/vym_e.html |date=2008-04-19 }}</ref>

==Affiliations and cooperation==

===Ecumenism===

The NRK is not associated with ecumenical organizations such as the [[National Christian Council in Japan]], the [[Christian Conference of Asia]] or the [[World Council of Churches]]. However, the NRK was a full member of the [[International Lutheran Council]] until 2025<ref>{{Cite web |last=Block |first=Mathew |date=2025-04-03 |title=LCANZ and JLC removed from membership in the ILC |url=https://ilcouncil.org/2025/04/03/lcanz-and-jlc-removed-from-membership-in-the-ilc/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=International Lutheran Council |language=en-US}}</ref> and is an associate member of the [[Lutheran World Federation]].

===Relationship with other Lutheran churches===

The work of Lutheran missionaries resulted in the establishment of five major Lutheran church bodies and a number of smaller ones, with a total membership of approximately 30,000. The largest of these, with about 20,000 members, is the JELC. Other Lutheran churches include the [[Kinki Evangelical Lutheran Church]], the [[West Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church]], the [[Japan Lutheran Brethren Church]], the [[Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church]] and the [[Fellowship Deaconry Evangelical Church]] (Marburger Mission).

Cooperation among the various Lutheran churches in Japan is common, particularly with respect to outreach ministries. Church planting plans are mutually shared in order to avoid duplications.  Most of the Lutheran churches have also joined together to form the {{nihongo|'''[[Lutheran Literature Society]]'''|聖文舎|''Seibunsha''}}, which publishes Christian books and materials; one notable endeavor being in the publication of a common Lutheran hymnal.

The NRK and the JELC sponsor a joint seminary in Tokyo, the [[Japan Lutheran Theological Seminary]] while the other Lutheran seminary in [[Kobe]] is sponsored by the Kinki Evangelical Lutheran Church and the West Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church.<ref>Okinawa Lutheran Church: [http://church.ne.jp/okiluth/english/history.html Lutheran Mission in Japan]</ref>

==See also==

*[[Christianity in Japan]]
*[[Protestantism in Japan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110722121442/http://www.jlc.or.jp/index_e.html Japan Lutheran Church]
* [http://jlc.or.jp/omiya/ Omiya Zion Lutheran Church]

{{Christianity in Japan}}
{{International Lutheran Council Churches}}
{{Lutheran World Federation Churches}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lutheranism in Japan]]
[[Category:International Lutheran Council members|Japan]]
[[Category:Lutheran World Federation members|Japan]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1948]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in Japan]]