Muslim leaders in Japan have moved to condemn the terrorist group responsible for the apparent killing of Japanese hostages, worried that their small but growing community may become the target of resentment.
The response from Muslims is part of the fallout after a two-week hostage drama that riveted Japan and prompted debate about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ’s security policy.
Hostile comments against Islam and Muslims have emerged on Japanese social media since the first video of two Japanese hostages was released Jan. 20. One right-wing group organized a rally in Tokyo last Thursday to protest against the government’s policy of relaxing immigration rules. “If we invite workers from Muslim nations in the future, given their doctrine, we may see a clash more tragic than what they are experiencing in Europe,” a group affiliated with Zaitokukai, a high-profile national organization, said on its website. Organizers of the rally didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.
Muslim leaders in Japan say they are on the watch after the release Sunday morning Japan time of a video that claimed to show the beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. An earlier video showed another hostage, Haruna Yukawa, meeting a similar fate.
“This type of action by IS [Islamic State] is not a Muslim action. We don’t know who they are, what they are planning and what they are thinking,” said Saeed Mughal, a representative of Islamic Circle of Japan, a group overseeing five mosques in and around Tokyo. “We condemn their action and we stand with our Japanese brothers.”
The latest hostage crisis comes as Japan begins to open itself up to ethnic minorities, including Muslims and Hindus. More businessmen, workers, students and tourists are visiting Japan or living here.
Tokyo’s international airports at Narita and Haneda now have prayer rooms for Muslims. Restaurants are popping up to serve food free of alcohol or pork to meet the dietary needs of Muslims.
Representatives of a handful of mosques from across Japan gathered in Tokyo Sunday to discuss their response to the hostage crisis. They issued a statement asking media not to call the terrorist group Islamic State (“Isuramu-koku” in Japanese), saying the word Islam in the name “breeds misunderstanding of peaceful Islam and serious prejudice against many Muslims who live in Japan.”
The Muslim population in Japan is small but is growing fast because of the influx of students and workers. Though no official tally exists, Hirofumi Tanada, a Waseda University professor and an expert on Muslim communities, estimates the population to be about 130,000, including Japanese who have converted to the religion. That compares to roughly 60,000 in 2000 and 30,000 to 40,000 two decades ago. Indonesians make up the largest group, followed by those from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Iran and Turkey.
Muslims are still just 0.1% or so of Japan’s population, if Mr. Tanada’s estimate is correct, less than 0.8% in the U.S. and 7.5% in France, according to Pew Research.
“The latest hostage-taking has probably reinforced the stereotype that Muslims are violent and aggressive people,” said Shigeru Shimoyama, a Japanese Muslim who serves as a spokesman for Tokyo Camii, Japan’s largest mosque in central Tokyo. Its membership has more than doubled over the past decade.
Police departments nationwide have been ordered to stay on high alert for possible harassment and attacks against Muslims and their religious facilities, as well as embassies of Muslim nations.
Meanwhile, tourism from Muslim nations is growing. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in preparation of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, set a goal of increasing the number of foreign visitors to Japan and eased visa requirements for visitors from nations including Malaysia and Indonesia. The number of Indonesian visitors has grown 56% over the past two years to 158,700 in 2014, according to Japanese government figures.
Fatmawati Djafri, an Indonesian student at Waseda University, said she still senses chilliness from some Japanese toward Muslims. “They are trying to keep distance from us when we use headscarves,” she said.