Lutheran Church in America. Board of World Missions. Secretary for East Asia.

When the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was organized in 1962, three of its predecessor bodies had missions in Japan. These three predecessor bodies were: the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Suomi Synod, and the United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA). The missionaries in Japan of these three churches had been working with the Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church and continued to do so. The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (JELC), organized first as a synod related to the ULCA in 1920, had changed its status to "affiliated church" in 1950. The JELC reorganized in 1963 to reflect the new constituencies.