Society Japan's growing Muslim community faces difficulties burying their dead

As Japan's Muslim population grows (approximately 350,000 at the beginning of 2024), the need for burials that follow Islamic traditions is also increasing, creating a challenge in a country where cremation is typical. Although some local governments are looking into the possibility of new cemeteries for foreign workers, these plans have met resistance from some community leaders, who have cited sanitary concerns.


The scarcity of burial plots causes anxiety for Muslims planning to settle permanently in Japan. Miyagi Prefecture Governor Murai Yoshihiro recently expressed his intent to explore building a new cemetery after a Muslim resident explained the difficulties his family faces due to this lack of burial options. Miyagi Prefecture has partnered with Indonesia to recruit workers, highlighting the growing need to address the burial issue.

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. The Quran, the holy book of Islam, says that Muslims must be buried and are resurrected after death. Cremation is strictly forbidden among practitioners of the faith. [...] Elsewhere, a construction project for a large burial cemetery promoted by the Beppu Muslim Association, a religious corporation in Hiji, Oita Prefecture, in southwestern Japan, has been put off indefinitely due to opposition from the town's mayor. [...] The apparent smooth progress of the plan was in contrast with the opposition aroused in 2018 by a plan to buy a different plot. That had triggered rumours about alleged harm, including the impact on groundwater quality.

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The issue made it into the mainstream media in 2022:


The South China Morning Post worries about a wave of social media hostility thwarting the Muslim community in Japan. I hope they are equally concerned about the fate of the Uyghur population in China.

Sounds like a good business would be a form of life insurance that includes repatriation and burial in one's home country. Although that could be tricky because I think Muslims require burial within a very short time after death.

Last Thursday, Miyagi Governor Murai Yoshihiro suddenly cancelled plans for a Muslim burial site after discovering that every local mayor opposed the proposal. This decision came just weeks before the gubernatorial election. During that day's prefectural assembly session, Murai made his announcement whilst responding to an assembly member who had asked whether scrapping the plan might be wise to prevent further turmoil, given the lack of support.

The proposal had been under discussion since late last year as a way to respect the religious burial customs of foreign workers. Still, it ran into fierce public and political opposition. Between 13th and 17th September, Murai had personally telephoned each mayor across the prefecture to gauge their stance. According to Murai, the response was universal: "Every single one told me they couldn't accept the plan, even if the prefecture officially put it forward."

When media reported in late December that Murai was considering building burial sites, the prefectural office was flooded with calls and emails expressing concern and opposition. Comments included, "Is this going to move forward without public input?" "I'm worried about damage to the reputation of local products and environmental impact," and "I'm uneasy about the increase in foreign residents." The prefecture has received more than 2,000 emails and phone calls to date. Approximately half of these reportedly came from outside the prefecture. Despite the backlash, Murai initially stood firm. He said the plan was based on requests from Muslim residents and argued, "If we talk about multicultural coexistence, but ignore (burial) needs, that's a failure of governance. Even if criticized, we must move forward." In March, Murai condemned discriminatory social media posts targeting Muslims and reiterated his commitment to the burial site plan.

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Noboru Sato, an 83-year-old Muslim who represents the Islamic Cultural Centre of Sendai, expressed both gratitude and disappointment about the cancelled plans: the prefecture's willingness to consider the actual lives of foreigners rather than simply viewing them as labourers had made him happy, which made the outcome all the more disheartening. Sato, who has headed the organisation for nearly four decades, explained that the Muslim community in the prefecture has evolved significantly. What was once primarily composed of international students now includes workers from the automotive and construction sectors, showing both steady growth and greater diversity.

He pointed out that Japan has only about ten burial cemeteries suitable for Muslims, with none located in the Tohoku region. Sato noted that whilst many Muslims prefer burial in their hometowns, those currently living in the area must travel to the Kanto or Chubu regions, creating both financial and logistical challenges. Sato and other members of the Muslim community had written to the governor specifically requesting the establishment of burial sites in the prefecture.