United Church of Christ in Japan

United Church of Christ in Japan 日本キリスト教団 Nihon Kirisuto Kyōdan
Abbreviation	UCCJ
Associations	World Council of Churches Christian Conference of Asia National Council of Churches in Japan
Region	Japan Eleven other countries
Origin	24 June 1941 Fujimicho Church
Merger of	Thirty-three denominations
Separations	Anglican Church in Japan Japan Assemblies of God Japan Baptist Convention Japan Holiness Church Japan Lutheran Church Reformed Church in Japan The Salvation Army Nihon Kirisuto Kyokai Numerous evangelical churches
Congregations	1,725
Members	200,000
Ministers	2,189
Official website	Website (in English)

The United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ; Japanese: 日本キリスト教団 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 June 24, 1941. The UCCJ, which is a Japanese Independent Church, is a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Currently, the church has some about 200,000 members and 1,725 congregations served by 2,189 pastors.

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 October 17, 1940. The Kyōdan was established at a Founding General Assembly held at the Fujimicho Church (founded by Uemura Masahisa) on 24–25 June 1941.

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 plus numerous smaller evangelical churches.

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, 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.

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