A Japanese town wrestles with identity after protests over its first mosque
Today, it's a field of grass. But soon, it'll be the site of the first mosque in this Japanese town. "It makes me worry about
Today, it's a field of grass. But soon, it'll be the site of the first mosque in this Japanese town. "It makes me worry about how our community might change," says long-time resident Noriko Izumizawa. Plans to build an Islamic religious site in Fujisawa, a laid-back seaside town about an hour's drive south of Tokyo, have sparked a wide range of emotions.
There is anger and fear, as well as hope and acceptance, exposing the growing anxieties over immigration and social change as Japan grapples with a labour shortage from a shrinking and ageing population. Although immigration remains politically sensitive and restrictive, Japan is increasingly relying on foreign workers to fill open jobs.
That means an influx of immigrants with various cultures, languages, religions and ways of being. So the debate that is playing out in towns like Fujisawa across the country is one that goes to the heart of how Japan sees itself. Izumizawa is not alone in the way she feels.
She is among a group of Fujisawa residents who are anxious about the increasingly visible Muslim community. She says that the polarising debates around immigration in the US and Europe have also contributed to her unease.
The BriefWire