A post is doing the rounds on social media platforms claiming that Japan has been able to keep "Islam at bay by putting restrictions on Islam and all Muslims."
What do the viral post say?: It makes several points saying that Japan is the only nation that does not give citizenship to Muslims. It adds that permanent residency is not given to Muslims and that there is a strong ban on the propagation of the religion.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
Are these claims true?: No, the post carried several false and misleading claims.
We found that there are no religious requirements to become a citizen /national of Japan.
Team WebQoof divided the claims made in the viral post into seven broad categories, which we then explored in detail.
No citizenship for Muslims in Japan?: We checked the official website of the Ministry of Justice of Japan to find if there is such a rule that prohibits Muslims from applying for citizenship.
It said that a person who is not a Japanese national can apply through a process of naturalisation.
There were certain conditions that one needs to fulfill, such as being domiciled in the country for more five consecutive years or more and should be twenty years of age. However, we did not find any requirements that specifically pointed towards an individual's religion.
No religious requirements were mentioned.
(Source: Ministry of Justice/Screenshot)
About permanent residency in Japan: On checking the Immigration Services Agency's website, we found several legal obligations that an individual needs to fulfil to gain a permanent residency permit.
Under the requirements, it said a person needs to "be of good conduct" and have "sufficient assets or skills to earn an independent living" etc.
Again, there was no mention of any religious requirements.
The website did not mention any religious obligations.
(Source: Immigration Services Agency/Screenshot)
Is there a strong ban on the propagation of Islam?: According to Japan's constitution, the freedom of religion is guaranteed to all under Article 20. It further said that no person should be compelled to participate in any religious act or practice.
The Article 20 of the constitution talks about the freedom of religion.
(Source: Prime Minister of Japan website/Screenshot)
As per a report in The Asahi Shimbun, the population following Islam in the country is growing. It said that above 2 lakh Muslims are based in Japan.
A 2022 report published in the US Department of State mentioned that Tanada Hirofumi, Professor Emeritus at Waseda University, estimated that around 2.3 lakh Muslims live in Japan, including about 47 thousand citizens.
The report was published in 2022.
(Source: US Department of State/Screenshot)
Arabic or Islamic languages are not taught in Japan?: Team WebQoof found that Tokyo University of Foreign Studies offers around 27 languages including Arabic.
Further, a keyword search on Google led us to the website of Osaka University. It, too, did offer a course including Arabic.
Another university named Sophia University has a course that includes learning of languages such as Arabic to better understand the Middle East and North Africa.
Can a person not import 'Koran' published in Arabic?: On checking the customs department website, we did not find any evidence that the religious text has indeed been banned from being imported into the country.
We also found that the book can be purchased on Amazon Japan.
No evidence to prove that the religious text is banned.
(Source: Customs website/Screenshot)
Negligible number of embassies in the world?: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website mentioned different embassies of Japan that are available in different parts of the world.
It included countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and others.
It is clear that the country has embassies in several prominent countries.
(Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs's website/Screenshot)
Muslims can't rent a house in Japan?: While there are news reports indicating discrimination towards foreigners when they try to rent a property, there is no mention of people not giving homes specifically to Muslims.
It should be noted that there are no laws that prohibits a person following a specific religion from owning a property.
Conclusion: It is clear that a post making several misleading and false claims about Japan's "actions" against Muslims is doing the rounds on social media platforms.
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