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Are Muslims A Threat To Japan? Surge In Population Altering...Protest Erupt Over...Identity Crisis Looms...

In Japan today, public anger against Muslims, particularly Kurdish immigrants, is evident on the streets. This means a major campaign against Muslims is currently underway in Japan.

Are Muslims A Threat To Japan? Surge In Population Altering...Protest Erupt Over...Identity Crisis Looms...
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In Indian culture, guests are considered deities. In Japan, the word Omotenashi is used for guests, meaning to welcome them with warmth and respect. However, in Japan today, public anger against Muslims, particularly Kurdish immigrants, is evident on the streets. This means a major campaign against Muslims is currently underway in Japan.

The images you're seeing are from Japan's Saitama Prefecture. Thousands of people, carrying Japanese flags, have taken to the streets against Kurds. We want to clarify that Kurds are not native to Japan; they are people from Turkey, Iraq, and Syria, mostly Sunni Muslims. When persecution against Kurds increased in these countries, Japan showed humanitarianism by granting them visa exemptions. Following this, the Kurdish population in Kawaguchi and Warabi in Southern Saitama continuously grew. The Kawaguchi and Warabi areas effectively became a "mini-Kurdistan."

As the population grew, the fear of Kurds in these areas also increased, leading peace-loving native Japanese people to take to the streets to protect their homeland. Protests demanding the expulsion of Sunni Kurds from Japan have been ongoing since 2023, fueled by years of pent-up anger.

In July 2023, a Kurd murdered two Japanese people. In January 2024, some Kurdish individuals were accused of sexually assaulting a Japanese woman. One suspect in this case was later accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. In September 2024, an unlicensed Kurdish driver ran over and killed two Japanese motorcyclists.

In 2023, 69 Kurds were arrested in Japan for criminal offenses, representing 6% of all foreigners arrested for crimes. This means 6 out of every 100 criminals were found to be Kurdish. The increasing involvement of Kurds in crime has exhausted the patience of Japanese people, leading to calls for their expulsion from Japan.

The root of native Japanese anger is not just crime, but also an anxiety about preserving their cultural identity. In 2005, the Muslim population in Japan was 110,000. By 2023, the Muslim population had grown to 350,000. In 18 years, the Muslim population in Japan has tripled.

We also want to mention that about 48% of Japan's population follows Shintoism, which is Japan's indigenous religion. Around 46% follow Buddhism, and the remaining 5% follow other religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism.

Although the number of Muslims in Japan's total population is small, the rapid growth of the Muslim population has increased concerns among native Japanese about their culture.

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