The first Protestant missionaries came to Japan in the 19th century from the mainline denominations about the time when the Western Great Powers forced the national government to do away with its isolationist policy with their battleships. More missionaries landed in Japan as the country asked for the latest Western knowledge and civilization. The Christians were persecuted in the society even after the abolition of the prohibition on Christianity in 1873. Evangelism, hence, has been successful through Christian institutions, such as private schools and social welfare organizations.
