AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The case of incitement against Muslims in Japan did not end with the protests that arose following the proposed mosque construction project in the city of Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture last April. After local debates subsided for a few weeks, the issue returned to the forefront with a new digital campaign—one that this time follows a broader and more complex path.
The new campaign is no longer limited to the mosque issue, construction permits, or local opposition. Rather, its narrative has shifted to a wider domain. In this wave, Japanese and foreign accounts have used images, videos, and claims about praying in public places, a fabricated image of prayer inside an anime store, images of fires in churches and temples, as well as an unverified claim about the expulsion of immigrants, to portray Muslims in Japan as a cultural and social threat.
Al Jazeera's open-source unit examined the most prominent content published in this campaign, tracking its dissemination process and accompanying reactions. This investigation revealed that much of the content that has once again fueled incitement against Muslims is either fabricated, taken out of context, or linked to claims that no official data or source supports.
The Mosque Project
The new campaign did not emerge from a vacuum. The protests in Fujisawa against the mosque construction project had already prepared the ground for the reproduction of the old anti-Muslim discourse in Japan.
But the new wave is no longer limited to the mosque, the construction permit, or local protests. The narrative has instead expanded into a broader issue in which scattered scenes are presented as evidence of the spread of Islam, cultural threat, or a danger to Japanese identity.
A Fresh Spark
In several posts, Muslims in Japan have been targeted by a narrative that moves beyond specific realities. Some accounts have linked praying in public places to the changing face of cities, while others have described the visible religious presence of Muslims as a test of Japan's ability to protect its identity.
These posts have provided no evidence of violations of specific laws or security threats, but have relied solely on the impact of an image or video, then, by adding a political interpretation, turned it into provocative content.
In the captions accompanying some videos, the presence of Muslims has been described with terms such as "invasion" or "imposed presence." In other posts, Muslims have been portrayed as a group operating within an organized cultural or religious project, without any evidence being provided to support this claim.
This method has given the campaign the ability to expand, because it does not require a single main incident; rather, it brings together scattered material and presents it within a unified framework, giving the audience the impression that they are facing a widespread and growing phenomenon.
Prayer as a Pretext
The presence of prayer has been one of the main axes of the new campaign. Some accounts have published images and videos of Muslims praying in public places or open spaces in Japan, then accompanied them with warnings about "invasion," threats to public order, and the transformation of Japan.
Instead of prayer being seen as a religious act, these accounts have presented it as a political act or a collective display. Some publishers have claimed that the purpose of these prayers is to demonstrate power or normalize Islamic presence, while others have called for a complete ban on such scenes.
However, the open-source investigation shows that this content provides no evidence of a security threat or specific legal violation. Moreover, Muslim prayer is not a new phenomenon. Muslims had previously held Eid al-Fitr prayers in the same location without causing any security threat or demanding, as was claimed, the allocation of specific spaces for themselves.
This process shows how an ordinary religious scene can be turned into a tool for accusation: the image is taken out of context, accompanied by a provocative explanation, and then reaches audiences ready to interpret it as a sign of a greater danger.
Prayer in an Anime Store
One of the most controversial pieces of content was an image claimed to show Muslims praying inside an anime store in Japan. The image was shared with angry reactions, with some users claiming that Muslims had entered stores and imposed prayer in Japanese commercial spaces.
This image had a significant impact on the campaign because it juxtaposed two different symbols in the minds of the target audience: the anime store as a cultural and Japanese space, and prayer as a religious symbol of Islam. For this reason, the image was presented not as an isolated incident but as a sign of Japan's transformation.
However, investigation of the image showed that it had been generated using artificial intelligence. Additionally, some users stated that they had contacted the store owner, who denied that such a prayer had taken place in his store.
Based on these indications, fabricated or digitally generated content became a pretext for quickly generating anger against Muslims in Japan, before the refutations could reach the same audiences who had initially received the claim.
Fire in the Netherlands
This campaign did not remain confined to Japan. Some accounts shared a video of a church fire in the Netherlands and claimed that a Muslim immigrant was responsible. They then linked this incident to a narrative that Japan would face a similar fate if it did not stop Islamic immigration.
But examining the actual context of the incident tells a different story. The fire in question occurred at the beginning of this year during New Year's celebrations. Local media at the time reported that the cause of the fire was unknown, and there was no credible evidence to suggest that the incident was religiously motivated or that a Muslim immigrant was responsible.
Nevertheless, this video was republished in the new campaign as a warning to Japan. In this way, an incident from a European country was taken out of its original context and placed in the different context of Japan to increase fear of Muslims and immigration in the country.
Fires at Temples
The campaign later extended to Shinto and Buddhist temples in Japan as well. Some accounts published claims linking the presence of Muslims or Islamic immigration to fires at Japanese temples, suggesting that there was a recurring pattern.
This narrative is built by putting together unrelated events. An image of a temple or news about a fire is published, and alongside it, explanations about Muslims and immigration are placed, without any direct evidence linking the two.
However, available data and reports do not confirm this claim. Official fire statistics in Japan show no connection between Muslims and temple fires, and there is no documented evidence of Muslim immigrants being convicted in such cases.
Thus, the campaign is not seeking to prove a cause-and-effect relationship, but rather to create an impression. It is enough for a user to see an image of a burned temple and then read an explanation about Muslims for a connection to form in their mind, for which there is no evidence.
The Deportation Claim
On a different track, a claim was published in English stating that Japan's new prime minister had announced that culturally incompatible foreigners would be deported, referring to Muslims seen in images praying near famous Japanese locations.
The claim was written in a way that appeared official and credible, including a reference to a statement attributed to the prime minister, the text of a deportation decision, a warning about the threat to cultural standards, and the identification of a target group. However, these claims did not appear in any Japanese government source, and no official had announced such a position.
Despite the lack of evidence, this claim received significant attention because it targeted audiences seeking an example of tough immigration policy. In this way, Japan was transformed in these posts into a fictional symbol of a country that deports culturally incompatible individuals, rather than being a documented political reality.
This example shows how a claim without an official source can become part of a broader campaign, if it aligns with the political climate and anti-immigration views of the audience.
The World Cup
The World Cup also entered the campaign through the lens of identity and immigration. Some Japanese and foreign accounts, pointing to multi-ethnic national teams such as France, warned of cultural changes resulting from immigration.
The goal here was not sports, but to present teams with diverse backgrounds as evidence of the loss of national identity. In this way, Japan was linked to European and American concerns about immigration, despite the political and social differences between these countries.
Foreign Amplification
This campaign initially remained largely within the Japanese sphere, but later English-language accounts picked it up and republished it for wider audiences.
In this process, an account named "DR Maalouf" was seen republishing claims about Muslim prayer in Japan and linking it to a broader discourse on Sharia and immigration. Accounts in Europe and America opposed to immigration—including accounts with slogans such as "Make Europe Great Again" and accounts linked to the MAGA current in the United States—participated in reproducing this narrative.
Other accounts with different political leanings also republished the same content, linking it to demands to restrict immigration or prevent Islamic presence in public spaces.
These accounts did not transmit the story as it had been presented in Japan; rather, they rewrote it to suit their own audiences. In the Japanese version, the discussion was about protecting Japan. In the European version, it was about preventing a repeat of Europe's experiences. And in the American version, it entered the larger debate about immigration, borders, and identity.
In mid-April of last year, the city of Fujisawa in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, witnessed one of the largest anti-Muslim gatherings in recent years, where protesters gathered in opposition to the mosque construction project in the city.
During these protests, placards were carried with phrases such as "Islamic Occupation" and "Halal Food Is Annoying." Slogans were also raised calling for the immediate halt of the project and even the banning of Islamic cemeteries and the mandatory cremation of bodies as the only method of burial.
**************
End/ 345E
