United Lutheran Church in America. Board of Foreign Missions. Secretary for Japan.

In 1887, the United Synod South Board of Missions and Church Extension decided to begin mission work in Japan, but it was not until 1892 that the first two missionaries, James A. B. Scherer and Robert E. Peery were sent to Japan. The Rev. J. M. T. Winther from Denmark began mission work in Japan in 1898 for the Lutheran Mission Society of West Schleswig, Germany. Pastor Winther was soon supported by the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In 1910, representatives from the United Synod South, the General Council, and the United Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church met and approved a common conference of Lutheran missionaries in Japan calledthe Joint Conference of Lutheran Missions Cooperating in Japan. This arrangement continued until 1918 when the United Lutheran Church in America was organized. In 1919, the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC) was started. The basis of cooperation agreed upon between the JELC and the Japan Mission of the ULCA included separate chambers at the same annual meeting, one of the missionaries and one of the Japanese pastors, evangelists, and lay delegates.The Japanese government passed "The Law for the Control of Religious Organizations" in 1939. In May 1941, the JELC approved a union with other Protestant denominations resulting in the "Nippon Kirisuto Kyodan" or The Church of Christ in Japan. By 1942, all United Lutheran Church missionaries had left Japan.