Growing Muslim population in need of burial plots in Japan

The authorities should appropriate public parkland, sports fields and other public green spaces for this. The rest of us don't need it anyway.

Or the community could be told: "When in Rome..."

"I feel that the government should be more concerned about the lack of attention to multiculturalism, even though it claims to be a multicultural society,"

Japan want cheap labor from abroad really badly but won't accept multiculturalism.

 who opposed the plan over concerns about public health

There's no excuse at all, especially in rural area. There are plenty spaces and abandoned houses, in fact nobody really care about that area, so public health concern just an excuse. Other countries do burial everyday, what kind of disease they have? Another ridiculous Japanese excuse.

@asdfghjkl

This is going to sound harsh but how about convert to the local religion or one more in line with Japanese way of life if one wants to live here.

It is harsh, why anyone would give up their identity like that? Next what force them to eat natou beans and forced them to eat ramen by slurping loudly?

@JeffLee

Or the community could be told: "When in Rome..."

Why people still stuck in the past where people statement? While in Rome people don't eat nato beans.

Here another one, in many Asian countries, many toilet doesn't provide tissue only water, guess how many western foreigners can really comply with that.

Japan be very careful!

@vanstar

Japan really addicted with cheap labor, so Japan need to fulfill those labor needs.

Do not cater to it.

This is going to sound harsh but how about convert to the local religion or one more in line with Japanese way of life if one wants to live here.

Not harsh at all. Japan should not start pandering to one specific group of people. If they want burial plots, they buy the land, go through the paperwork and sort it out themselves.

...after a plea from a Muslim resident who told him that living in Japan "is very difficult" for his family because of the lack of graves.

Not to be cheeky, but the living don't need graves.

I’m not familiar with Japanese law, but are these communities not able to purchase land themselves and use it as a cemetery? I believe private cemeteries do exist in Japan so there should be nothing stopping them from buying land and appropriating it to burials

If not, what is wrong with the public cemeteries currently available in Japan? Cremation as performed in Japan is secular and doesn’t involve any religious ceremonies.

If Muslims find it difficult to live in Japan because of lack of graves, then they should consider going back to their home countries where their remains will be buried in accordance with their religion. Multiculturalism means respecting each culture’s way of life. It doesn’t mean imposing yours on others.

They need to conform to the social norms here, or stop coming.

Umm, no.

In a country already with limited space, they'd be expecting too much.

"" This is going to sound harsh but how about convert to the local religion or one more in line with Japanese way of life if one wants to live here.""

This doesn't sound harsh at all, in fact people do convert but for other reasons like love, marriage, change of faith, and so on, but to suggest that people should consider converting due to IGNORANCE and lack of Understanding is Ignorant in itself.

People should be able to choose how they wish to be buried and this is what this article is all about.

@Gorramcowboy

In a country already with limited space, they'd be expecting too much.

You don't only think that Japan only Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Kobe right?

There are vast empty land all over Japan, by now many lands are available even more in Japan.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia-Insight/Japan-real-estate-recovery-defies-demographic-decline

There are vast empty land all over Japan, by now many lands are available even more in Japan.

Perfect, problem solved then. The Muslim community can buy that land and allocate it to burial sites.

@Meiyouwenti

then they should consider going back to their home countries where their remains will be buried in accordance with their religion. Multiculturalism means respecting each culture’s way of life. It doesn’t mean imposing yours on others.

They don't imposing their cultures to Japanese at all, read that article again do they ask for Japanese to stop cremation? They only ask a land that they already have to be a burial site, which need local government approval?

@JboneInTheZone

I’m not familiar with Japanese law, but are these communities not able to purchase land themselves and use it as a cemetery? I believe private cemeteries do exist in Japan so there should be nothing stopping them from buying land and appropriating it to burials

If not, what is wrong with the public cemeteries currently available in Japan? Cremation as performed in Japan is secular and doesn’t involve any religious ceremonies.

They already acquired land, they only need local government permission, which can be vary from place to place. Even better, if local government claim they friendly to foreigners, they can prove that statement by providing all needs for foreigners, including burial. H

They already acquired land, they only need local government permission, which can be vary from place to place. 

No, they didn’t have permission. According to the article permission was rescinded because there was a potential threat of contaminating the ground water. That sounds like a pretty justified reason to rescind permission, no?

I think the Muslim community will end up funding private land for burial and comply with regulations.

The issue of ground water contamination seems staged to prevent the idea.

Most Western countries have very large areas set aside for burial, and this issue has never arisen, to my knowledge.

I think water contamination in Japan comes from industry and farming practices.

@factchecker

Not harsh at all. Japan should not start pandering to one specific group of people. If they want burial plots, they buy the land, go through the paperwork and sort it out themselves.

The thing for burial permission is really depend on local government, many local government in Japan they want foreign cheap labor, they want those worker pension money, those worker local tax. However when it comes to cater those worker needs, then it comes sucking teeth moment.

@GuruMick

 think the Muslim community will end up funding private land for burial and comply with regulations.

The issue of ground water contamination seems staged to prevent the idea.

Most Western countries have very large areas set aside for burial, and this issue has never arisen, to my knowledge.

I think water contamination in Japan comes from industry and farming practices.

There are many hills or mountain in rural Japan, where people lives miles away. It even might take almost an hour to nearest town or village, those place can be burial site, if only local government permit that.

@JboneInTheZone

No, they didn’t have permission. According to the article permission was rescinded because there was a potential threat of contaminating the ground water. That sounds like a pretty justified reason to rescind permission, no?

Exactly that what I said, permission. Just to buy land and property in Japan is pretty easy, anyone can do it abroad, remember there's Chinese lady that bought the whole island last year?

Ground water excuse, that's coincidentally just happened when new mayor being elected, at least what written in that article.

Ground water excuse, that's coincidentally just happened when new mayor being elected, at least what written in that article.

Can you please post a source or something that supports your claim it’s just an excuse? I’ll wait.

@JboneInTheZone

The association's representative, Tahir Khan, was informed that Abe had no intention of selling the plot to be used as a cemetery after residents expressed concerns about the possible contamination of drinking water among other issues.

The thing, is that really science based or rumor based, remember many countries are having burial site without any issue at all.

And I am sure "change " above can explain why the multitude of burial sites in Sydney , some over a century old, do not appear to have affected the water.

Underground water, that just made up excuse

It’s not an excuse. Muslims aren’t buried in coffins. I’d wager to say that a large number of corpses in the earth rotting away is a pretty justified reason to be concerned about contamination.

They were able to purchase lands/properties for their Mosques/prayer rooms

What's stopping them from doing the same for their cemeteries?

I know a few Muslims in Japan and from what i've heard they usually have more than enough funds for these things

Lots of chemical hydrologists on the forum this morning, "I,d wager to say "

Worried about their future when they're dead and their bodies decomposing. Interesting. Maybe change and adopt the local customs and incinerate the body. When you move to a different country you need to accept change. Otherwise, you'll be a very unhappy person.

@GuruMick

And I am sure "change " above can explain why the multitude of burial sites in Sydney , some over a century old, do not appear to have affected the water.

Exactly! Whether citizen concern is real or not can be proven scientifically.

The thing, is that really science based or rumor based

It’s science based:

”Conclusion:In this review, the issues related to corpse disposal were addressed. It was found that traditional burial can directly affect the soil and underground water, due to the leachate, also denominated as necro slurry. It can carry several pollutants, from organic ions (eg. nitrate, nitrate, sulfates), to inorganic ions (eg. As, Fe, Cu, Cs. Pb, etc), bacteria, and viruses (eg. Escherichia coli, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Streptococcus faecalis, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium”

Also keep in mind this research was done on cemeteries in the U.S., which typically involves burial inside coffins, unlike Islamic burial traditions

Better to assume that we're too backwards as a species to get rid of religion (in any form) any time soon, and spend our efforts trying to work out how to accommodate people.

FYI, many are being sent back to their homeland to be buried as recent as last month a Canadian friend body was actually delivered to his family for burial, many are already buying the insurance to pay for such an event and the cost is about the same.

People can choose were they wish to be buried if they can afford it but many can't.

Japan is unusually difficult to change or adopt to any un Japanese method or lifestyle for so many reasons that many don't understand but people seem to be happy.

People are getting cremated, Buried underground, at Sea, on River beds, even cremated above ground daily, so for someone to claim that underground water quality could be impacted is inaccurate, there is more to this than just the drinking water which is impacted daily by industrial waste and illegal dumping.

This is about Lack of understanding and adopting to a different lifestyle, and I would not be surprised if this is driven or even supported by the Cremation Industry for possible business lose.

People are getting cremated, Buried underground, at Sea, on River beds, even cremated above ground daily, so for someone to claim that underground water quality could be impacted is inaccuratE

Not true

”Conclusion:In this review, the issues related to corpse disposal were addressed. It was found that traditional burial can directly affect the soil and underground water, due to the leachate, also denominated as necro slurry. It can carry several pollutants, from organic ions (eg. nitrate, nitrate, sulfates), to inorganic ions (eg. As, Fe, Cu, Cs. Pb, etc), bacteria, and viruses (eg. Escherichia coli, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Streptococcus faecalis, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653522025188

The article simply explain how it can be hard for muslims to find a place and many comments forget there are 100% Japanese muslims ! What will you say to those nationals ? Change your faith ? Be buried in a muslim country far from your Japanese family?

What a narrow minded and lack of respect....

The article simply explain how it can be hard for muslims to find a place and many comments forget there are 100% Japanese muslims

You realize there are Islamic burial sites in Japan, right? The article isn’t about whether or not they should or shouldn’t exist, the article is about dealing with the issue of an increasing population without the burial sites to match.

after a plea from a Muslim resident who told him that living in Japan "is very difficult" for his family because of the lack of graves.

technically "lack of graves" does not make living difficult.

Of course this was knowledge before coming here........

Why is this the responsibility of the Govt? Mosques should sort it out themselves.

My original custom is to be buried in a coffin underground. But if I retire in Japan I will follow the local customs, or even just get the ashes disposed according to available procedures and laws. I will not try to move my country to Japan or start asking Japanese to conform to my needs. If any, I will ask my body to be shipped to my country to be buried there.

It's not just tradition why Japanese people are nearly all cremated - it's about available burial space. Any western or other foreigner from a Christian background is going to have to accept that cremation in Japan when they die is more likely than burial.

Muslims are just going to have to accept they will have to be more flexible in a country like Japan and that the exceptionalism policies of Muslim and western countries do not apply here. And they shouldn't. Something about wanting the benefits of living in Japan without adapting in the case of some.

They don't imposing their cultures to Japanese at all

if they just buy their own land and perform their own burials, why does the govt need to be involved ? Not a yen of public money should be used

This will be an excellent business opportunity for someone to take on.

There are quite a few Japanese graves in Australiabin Northern Australia that date back mors than 150 years or so.

Wonder how they were accomodated then?

I guess if it's not illegal, then some wise funeral homes will find a way to help the musilm community to live and pass on in Japan.

Look at the caption picture for an example of how ‘inclusionist’ these people are.

Well, it seems as if the Japanese already know this by denying burial grounds-smart thinking!

I find myself siding with opponents of the plan on this one.

Graveyards are a stupid waste of land that just put needless burdens on subsequent generations. Land should be used for the benefit of the living, not the dead. The country is already littered with mountainsides razed to accommodate thousands of tombs, The last thing it needs is to have to start allocating more land to this because some people have an even less space efficient way of housing their dead.

My own burial I hope will belike Donnie’s from the Big Lebowski.

Better to assume that we're too backwards as a species to get rid of religion (in any form) any time soon

Clearly TG's solution is to instead happily put your faith in Big Government, woke indoctrination, and the pill-pushing empire of pharmaceutical conglomerates. What a visionary you are TG - worshipping agendas who think drag shows for kids and experimental jabs are "progress!"

They were able to purchase lands/properties for their Mosques/prayer rooms

What's stopping them from doing the same for their cemeteries?

I know a few Muslims in Japan and from what i've heard they usually have more than enough funds for these things

Local Government approval is stopping them.

Local Government approval is stopping them.

Because of concerns regarding the contamination of local ground water, which is valid. No?

Jbone Monsieur

Japanese are very insular ,"no" ?

Sometimes the reason for opposition is a mask for being, well, oppositional , "no "?

A lot of folks here are showing a lack of understanding and appreciation of Japanese culture and society here:

The Japanese value politeness and tolerance, and inclusivity and freedom of religion.

It is a nation's obligation to serve its citizens and accommodate their religious needs, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or religion.

Japan has signed and ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, all of which uphold religious freedom and prohibit discrimination, principles also enshrined in Japan's Constitution (Article 20).

I’m not familiar with Japanese law, but are these communities not able to purchase land themselves and use it as a cemetery? I believe private cemeteries do exist in Japan so there should be nothing stopping them from buying land and appropriating it to burials

Legally, there is nothing stopping them from buying land and opening their own Muslim cemeteries.

Many Catholic and other Christian sects have their own private cemeteries for intact burial.

Japan has signed and ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, all of which uphold religious freedom and prohibit discrimination, principles also enshrined in Japan's Constitution (Article 20).

Once again, no one is prohibiting them from buying land and practicing their own religious burial customs.

If you choose to come to Japan you must adapt to Japan. Japan should not adapt to you! I am not Buddhist but when I die I will have a Buddhist funeral and burial. If you don’t like the way it is then move country. Nobody was forced to come to Japan. Not recently anyway.

Again..

Careful Japan..

Look Europe madness..

Local or national governments shouldn’t be on the business of catering to people’s religious opinions.

Governments have more important issues to address.

I get the impression that there are quite a few folks that think the solution is just buy some land and use it for a cemetery

It isnt that simple, not even close, even though, historically speaking, Japanese themselves were buried, and not cremated.

Dont forget the Muslim requirement of needing to bury a person within 24 hours of the death. Kind of hard to do in a country that, by law, requires an autopsy in countless numbers of circumstances and at least 24 hours, by law, in Japan, have to pass before a person can be cremated or buried, which actually goes against the needs of the Muslim community.

Not to mention there are many communities that require, by law, the body be cremated

Will this "one" location service the entire Muslim community of Japan? How many different cemeteries will be, or are necessary for their needs.

nickybuttToday  09:47 am JST

If you choose to come to Japan you must adapt to Japan. Japan should not adapt to you! I am not Buddhist but when I die I will have a Buddhist funeral and burial. If you don’t like the way it is then move country. Nobody was forced to come to Japan. Not recently anyway.

Democratic and free nations includeding allow and are obligated to support religious freedom. If you don't like that, then maybe Japan is not a suitable place for you.

When you come to Japan you need to accept the rules and culture. If you can not, you are free to find another home but you should already know this before coming.

nickybuttToday  09:47 am JST

If you choose to come to Japan you must adapt to Japan. Japan should not adapt to you! I am not Buddhist but when I die I will have a Buddhist funeral and burial. If you don’t like the way it is then move country. Nobody was forced to come to Japan. Not recently anyway.

There are many Japanese Muslims as well.

If Japan does not allow freedom of religion and forces immigrants to adopt its religion, this would be a human rights violation and religious persecution.

Just about all religions can - and should ' show flexibility. In Indonesia, the biggest Islamic nation on earth, alcohol is extremely popular (except in the extreme areas like Aceh), despite it being "haram".

Most Christians can adapt to cremation, even though traditionally it was "not acceptable" in Catholicism, for instance.

In a nation as land-poor as Japan, these religious folk will simply have to consider being flexible and accepting cremation. The other option is to repatriate the dead body to their home nations.

Democratic and free nations includeding allow and are obligated to support religious freedom

Not sure about the use of ‘support’ there.

They should have freedom of religion. You are free to believe whatever you like about an afterlife.

Governments shouldn’t be in the business of doing things like appropriating land to support those beliefs as its resources and bandwidth are finite, as is the land.

Believe what you like. Don’t inconvenience others with it.

There are plenty of small islands in Japan and nobody is living there.

If Muslims pay for it out their own wallet, it might be possible for them to buy such an uninhabited island and to use it as a private cemetery. They might also construct a mosque there and to buy their own motorboat to connect it with the major island nearby. Just my suggestion.

Generally said, Japan is not a Muslim country. If you find it 'very difficult' to live here because of a lack of support for your religion you should consider relocation to another country which fits you better.

There are cemeteries for foreigners in Kobe, Yokohama, Nagasaki, and elsewhere where deceased foreigners are buried in lead-lined coffins. They are now full so only new burials by families already with a grave. They have existed for more than 100 years.

Dont forget the Muslim requirement of needing to bury a person within 24 hours of the death. Kind of hard to do in a country that, by law, requires an autopsy in countless numbers of circumstances and at least 24 hours, by law, in Japan

Autopsies are only when the cause of death is unknown or likely involves murder. The number of autopsies are very low.

This is 100% a private matter, NOT a public matter. If land, AKA burial plots are necessary buy them privately. Not 1 yen of public money should be spent on this waste!

The Constitution protects the Freedom of Religion which means governments, local and central cannot place any restrictions to stop people from following religions which also involves diet and often how deceased people are dealt with.

As long as they fund it within their community it’s ok.

As long as they fund it within their community it’s ok

Fair,point.

The government should not use taxpayer money to pay for people’s religious opinions.

Still, it doesn’t deal with concerns about sanitary conditions. I’m not qualified to give an opinion on this.

Just to add to my earlier post about this being poor land use, you can see more details about the proposal on the city's website here:

https://www.town.hiji.lg.jp/kurashi_tetsuzuki/gomi_kankyo_eisei/eisei/2990.html

The proposal is to use 4,943 square metres of land to create 79 individual burial plots.

That works out to an average of 63 square metres per burial plot - devoting about as much land to two burial plots as what a typical suburban Japanese house for a family of four takes up.

Or in other words devoting about twice as much land to dead people as the average living person enjoys.

If you were to extrapolate that to the entire 350,000 Muslims living in Japan their burials would take up more land area than Tokyo. This is probably a bit misleading since the one proposed here is in a rural area where they don't seem to be trying to minimize its footprint, but still it does demonstrate the problem of trying to accomodate this custom on any meaningful scale.

Jimizo

Still, it doesn’t deal with concerns about sanitary conditions. I’m not qualified to give an opinion on this.

Foreigners have been buried in lead-lined coffins for more than 100 years. The lead lining prevents any leakage from the corpse even after the wood coffin has rotted.

How do you explain the millions of people buried in coffins in the UK? Is no one in your family buried? In the UK there are no lead-lined coffins unless the people died from an infectious disease like HIV.

Foreigners have been buried in lead-lined coffins for more than 100 years. The lead lining prevents any leakage from the corpse even after the wood coffin has rotted.

How do you explain the millions of people buried in coffins in the UK? Is no one in your family buried? In the UK there are no lead-lined coffins unless the people died from an infectious disease like HIV

Fair point. If the sanitary standards required in modern Japan are met, that would remove the problem. As I said, I’m not familiar with these standards.

Jimizo

Foreigners have been buried in lead-lined coffins for more than 100 years. The lead lining prevents any leakage from the corpse even after the wood coffin has rotted.

How do you explain the millions of people buried in coffins in the UK? Is no one in your family buried? In the UK there are no lead-lined coffins unless the people died from an infectious disease like HIV

Fair point. If the sanitary standards required in modern Japan are met, that would remove the problem. As I said, I’m not familiar with these standards.

Burial requirements are stricter in Japan than in the UK. The use of lead-lined coffins is the standard and thousands of foreigners are already buried in them.

They are not asking for any public money.

Could there be an argument that if religious organizations actually paid tax ( absolutely scandalous that they don’t ), they could expect the government ( employees of the taxpayer ) to be more accommodating of their requests or demands?

Just a thought.