Japan Lutheran Church

The Japan Lutheran Church ( 日本ルーテル教団 , Nihon

Japan Lutheran Church
Ruteru Kyoudan) or NRK (based on its Romaji initials) is a
confessional Lutheran denomination in Japan. It currently has
approximately 766 baptized members[1] in 35 congregations
nationwide.[2]

The current chairman of the NRK is Rev. Shin SHIMIZU.[3]

History Logo of the JLC

Classification Protestant
During the occupation of Japan by the Allied forces after the
Second World War, several US Army chaplains affiliated with the Orientation Confessional
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) were serving the local Lutheran
population. Discussions were held with representatives from the Polity Congregationalist
Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) as well as other
churches on mission work in post-war Japan. With the information Leader Rev. Shin
gathered, the LCMS came to the conclusion that they should send SHIMIZU
missionaries to northern Japan where the Lutheran presence was Associations International
scarce in order to avoid redundancies among the various Lutheran Lutheran Council,
churches and missions operating in Japan and a resolution was Lutheran World
adopted accordingly.
Federation
In September 1948, the LCMS installed the first missionary to Region Japan
Japan and declared the start of the Japan Mission, in accordance Origin September 19,
with the resolution adopted. With the passing of the Broadcast
Law ( 放送法 , Hōsō Hō) in 1950 legalising commercial and
1948
Tokyo, Japan
private broadcasting, The Lutheran Hour radio program started
broadcasting in 1951. Branched from Lutheran Church–
Missouri Synod
The NRK was officially recognised as a religious body in Japan in
Congregations 35
1953. Cooperation with the JELC remained close and in the same
year, the NRK established School of Theology was merged with Members 766 baptized
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.[4]

Structure & organization

The NRK is structured with a congregational polity.

Congregations by geographical regions

Hokkaidō

Hokkaidō

Congregations in the cities of Asahikawa, Ebetsu, Fukagawa, Kitami, Otaru,

Sapporo, and Takikawa as well as in the towns of Iwanai and Suttsu

Tōhoku

Fukushima

Congregations in the cities of Fukushima, and Kōriyama

Kantō

Gunma

A congregation in the city of Tatebayashi

Saitama

Congregations in the cities of Hannō and Saitama

Chiba

A congregation in the city of Funabashi

Tokyo

Congregations in the wards of Adachi, Chiyoda, Minato, Ōta and Suginami as well
as the city of Hino

Kanagawa

Congregations in Fujisawa, Kawasaki, and Yokohama

Chūbu

Niigata

Congregations in the cities of Nagaoka, Niigata, Sanjō, and Shibata

Kyūshū

Okinawa
 A congregation in the village of Nakagusuku

Ministries
Education is emphasized as a means of communicating the Gospel. Accordingly, the NRK operates Urawa
Lutheran School in Urawa and Holy Hope School in Hannō. The NRK also operates the Japan Lutheran
College in cooperation with the JELC and several members of the NRK sits on the college's Board of
Regents. The NRK also operates 11 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).[5]

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.[6]

Affiliations & 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 is a full member
of the International Lutheran Council as well as 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 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.[7]

See also
Christianity in Japan
 Protestantism in Japan

References
1. LWF Statistics - Japan (https://www.lutheranworld.org/country/japan) Archived (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20180203064626/https://www.lutheranworld.org/country/japan) 2018-02-03 at
the Wayback Machine The Lutheran World Federation
2. International Lutheran Council: Member (http://www.ilc-online.org/pages/default.asp?NavID=
20) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20070617230249/http://www.ilc-online.org/pages/
default.asp?NavID=20) 2007-06-17 at the Wayback Machine – Japan Lutheran Church
3. Room of Chairman (http://www.jlc.or.jp/nrk/jlc/chair.html)
4. Japan Lutheran Church Who We Are (http://www.jlc.or.jp/main/nrk_e.html) Archived (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20080526120543/http://www.jlc.or.jp/main/nrk_e.html) 2008-05-26 at the
Wayback Machine
5. Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod World Mission: Mission Work in Japan (http://www.lcms.or
g/pages/internal.asp?NavID=5864) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20090503024905/
http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=5864) 2009-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
6. Japan Lutheran Church Volunteer Youth Ministry (http://www.jlc.or.jp/main/vym_e.html)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080419045149/http://www.jlc.or.jp/main/vym_e.htm
l) 2008-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
7. Okinawa Lutheran Church: Lutheran Mission in Japan (http://church.ne.jp/okiluth/english/hist
ory.html)

External links
Japan Lutheran Church (https://web.archive.org/web/20110722121442/http://www.jlc.or.jp/in
dex_e.html)
Omiya Zion Lutheran Church (http://jlc.or.jp/omiya/)

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