- Japan has seen its Muslim community double in just over a decade, with a significant 110% increase from 110,000 in 2010 to about 230,000 in 2022, establishing Islam as the fastest-growing religion in the country.
- According to research, Ethnic Japanese women constitute the largest group of converts. Japan’s Muslim population is very young, foreshadowing the emergence of second and third-generation Japanese Muslims in the years to come.
In just over a decade, Japan’s Muslim population has doubled, surging by 110% from 110,000 in 2010 to approximately 230,000 by the end of 2022. Islam is evidently the fastest-growing religion in Japan. Interestingly, its neighbouring countries, South Korea and Taiwan also experience a rapid growth of their Muslim community in recent years. Furthermore, China’s Muslim population is expanding, despite the tireless efforts of the Chinese Communist Party (CPP), to eradicate Islam and Muslims, with a projected growth rate of 28.5% from 2010 to 2030, as the Pew Research Center find.
This exponential expansion mirrors the global pace at which Islam is proliferating. Islam stands as the swiftest-growing faith on the planet, boasting a 1.84% growth rate and anticipating a population of 2.9 billion by the year 2050. Conversely, among the world’s largest religions, including Islam, Christianity and Hinduism, the growth rates stand at 1.38% and 1.52%.
Professor of Sociology, Emeritus Hirofumi Tanada from Waseda University, Tokyo, stated that out of the 230,000 Muslims living in Japan as of 2022, 46,000 are ethnic Japanese converts. 183,000 are non-Japanese Muslims who mostly came to the country as workers or students. His research concluded that conversion is prominent among ethnic Japanese women after they marry Muslim men. In addition, many Academics and University professors are increasingly embracing Islam, as noted by an article in the Harvard Asia Quarterly, 2007.
The demographic profile of Japan’s Muslim community indicates a younger age distribution compared to other segments of the population, foreshadowing the emergence of second and third-generation Japanese Muslims in the years to come.
Dawah in Tokyo
Islamic Education Research Academy (IERA) Facebook Post: Tokyo’s Dawah Stall Crafted by IERA’s Outreach Specialist Salman Sugimoto (pictured bottom, right).
Japan is witnessing as an increasing number of individuals who are showing a keen interest in the faith. Notably, a mosque located in Tokyo reports a consistent weekly attendance of nearly a thousand visitors, all driven by a genuine curiosity about Islam, of which three-quarters are of Japanese origin.
During the 1980s, the mere concept of encountering a Muslim community or a mosque in Japan was deemed inconceivable, as recounted by individuals like Mohamed Shokeir (Journalist: Arab-Japanese Association) who embarked on his initial journey to Japan in 1981. However, the contemporary landscape boasts the presence of approximately 113 mosques scattered across the nation, thereby solidifying the prospective influence of Islam in a nation that only recently acquainted itself with the religion.
