Japan’s growing Muslim population faces burial challenges amid cremation norms

Japanese Muslims need new burial sites following an increase in the community’s population over the years, according to the Kyodo news agency.

Some local governments are willing to set aside land for new cemeteries for the growing Muslim population, while others are not so accommodating, it said.

Cremation is the predominant practice in Japan and more than 99.9% of cemeteries exclusively conduct cremations. That has left Muslims concerned about their burial options as Islamic beliefs strictly forbid cremation.

The governor of Miyagi province, located in northeastern Japan, said in December that a new cemetery was being considered after the province signed memorandums with Indonesia in 2023 to provide workers for local areas.

“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,” Gov. Yoshihiro Murai was quoted by the media outlet. Murai added that something has to be done as there were no cemeteries in the region.

The plan to establish a new cemetery in Hiji town, located in southwestern Japan, was canceled after Tetsuya Abe, a vocal opponent of the proposal, citing public health concerns, assumed office as mayor in August.

Japan currently has around 10 prominent religious cemeteries.

Japanese law does not ban ground burials and the decision is left to local governments on whether such cemeteries are to be established.

Muslim population in the country was estimated at 350,000 in 2024 according to Waseda University professor Hirofumi Tanada.