AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A Japanese-developed app is helping Muslim visitors find mosques, halal food and other items they need in the Southeast Asian country.
Despite Japan’s popularity as a travel destination, the lack of halal food remains a major hurdle for many Muslim visitors.
But the app, named Halal Navi, is helping travelers overcome this obstacle.
The app is providing information on restaurants offering halal food and mosques, while also serving as a platform for Muslim visitors to Japan to share practical tips.
Halal Navi is rapidly gaining popularity among Muslims in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
The app’s recognition skyrocketed after a short Instagram video, introducing a wagyu restaurant in Japan, shared earlier this year by Ikuto Hongu, the 25-year-old CEO of Halal Navi.
The video garnered more than a million views in just over a month, capturing widespread interest among Muslims.
Halal Navi is a free app that directs users to restaurants offering halal food, mosques and prayer rooms.
Users can also contribute by adding details about ingredients and other helpful information.
In Islamic law, halal refers to what is permitted by Allah, while data-x-items such as pork and alcohol are considered haram, or forbidden. The concept extends beyond food to include products and services.
The app was developed in 2014 by Ryotaro Ejima, a 48-year-old entrepreneur who had previously operated a restaurant and other businesses in Malaysia.
Currently, Halal Navi has approximately 8,000 registered users across 13 countries, including about 3,000 in Japan.
Hongu joined the app’s operations in the spring of 2023 and turned to social media to revitalize its popularity, which had declined during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The unexpectedly strong response led him to realize, “Information is meaningless if it doesn’t reach those who need it.”
Since then, Hongu has been posting content with subtitles in English, Arabic, and Indonesian, the latter specifically targeting the country’s large Muslim population.
He said the number of active users grew from 1,000 in spring 2023 to around 12,000 as of November 2024.
“There is a halal menu with photos,” a Singaporean commented on restaurant pages listed in the app.
“There are Muslim staff and a prayer space,” a Malaysian wrote.
“Alcohol is served, but it’s kept separate from the halal menu,” another Malaysian said.
Hongu sees the app’s strength as its role in sharing practical life information.
The app also lists prayer rooms in mosques and department stores.
Users contribute detailed updates, such as prayer room capacity and notes such as, “It was actually closed.”
“Information about halal food and prayer is essential for Muslims, yet until now, there hadn’t been a multilingual, nationwide tool to provide it,” Hongu said.
He said one user commented, “I thought the nearest prayer room was many train stops away, but now I can find one close by.”
Hongu spent a year studying in Malaysia while at university.
He recalls Muslim friends hesitating to travel to Japan, saying, “It’s hard to find food that we can eat.”
Some told him, “I went to Japan but ended up eating kebabs (with halal labels) the whole time.”
Hongu currently has more than 1.6 million followers on social media, becoming somewhat of an “influencer” on halal-related topics.
The number of visitors to Japan from Malaysia and Indonesia―both with large Muslim populations―reached around 840,000 in 2023, doubling from a decade ago, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
A study led by Hirofumi Tanada, a professor emeritus at Waseda University, estimates that Japan’s Muslim population stands at 350,000 as of late 2023.
However, strict requirements make halal certification challenging for many domestic companies.
Certification requirements include not only the use of halal-compliant ingredients but also ensuring that products are not transported alongside pork during distribution, according to the Japan Halal Business Association, which promotes halal practices and provides support to Muslims.
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