A recent increase in anti-immigrant sentiment in Japan has led people from some religious and ethnic groups who were not born in Japan to face hostility. Hate speech has spread on social media, and some mosques have been targeted with abusive messages.
Over the past five years, the number of Muslims in Japan has nearly doubled, from 230,000 in 2019 to 420,000 at the end of 2024. Most Muslim immigrants are workers from Southeast Asia and South Asia.
