Tokyo Japan Temple

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tokyo Japan Temple is the 20th constructed and 18th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Tokyo, Japan it was the first temple built in Asia. It has a compact style that was a precursor for later urban area temples such as the Hong Kong China Temple and the Manhattan New York Temple.

The LDS temple in Tokyo, Japan was announced on August 9, 1975. The temple was built on less than half an acre, on the site of the former mission home in downtown Tokyo. The mission home had to be demolished for the temple construction to proceed. The temple is very compact, with a parking garage in the basement and an apartment on one of the upper floors for the temple president. It has 2 ordinance room and 5 sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 52,590 square feet. The exterior of the temple is reinforced concrete covered with 289 pre-made panels of stone, which looks like light gray granite.

An open house was held September 15th through October 18, 1980 to allow the public to see the interior of the new Mormon temple. Spencer W. Kimball dedicated the Tokyo Mormon temple October 27, 1980. On December 10, 2004, a ceremony was held in which an angel Moroni statue was added to the spire of the temple. The Tokyo temple serves Mormon members in Northern Japan and Vladivostok, Russia.

A second Japanase temple was built in Fukuoka, Japan in June 2000.