Japan sees rise in anti-Muslim incidents as population grows

Discrimination directed at foreign residents in Japan has expanded to include Muslims, coinciding with an increase in their numbers over the past five years. Muslims in Japan, including foreign residents and Japanese believers, numbered roughly 420,000 at the end of 2024, up from 230,000 in 2019, according to a professor emeritus at Waseda University who studies the faith in Japan.

There are now over 160 mosques nationwide.

Online activity and local incidents Misinformation and hate speech are spreading on Japanese social media, and mosques are receiving a barrage of abusive phone calls and emails. Some residents have asked why they are suddenly being targeted, while others have expressed fear about leaving their homes.

Last year in Osaka, a rumour spread that the Muslim call to prayer was being broadcast at high volume from a mosque in the early morning. In February of this year, a series of suspicious fires broke out at a mosque and a used car showroom operated by Pakistani nationals in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, northern Japan.