A representative of a Muslim group in Oita Prefecture visited the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on the 17th, saying that there is a national shortage of graveyards that can be buried when Muslims living in Japan die. I petitioned to maintain the graveyard.
In Islam, cremation is not allowed by the law, and burial is required, but there are few graveyards accepted in Japan, and there are a number of cases in western Japan where burial is difficult.
A Muslim group in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, has been discussing with the town three years ago for permission to buy land in a neighboring town and open a burial graveyard, but is concerned about water pollution and reputational damage. Due to the opposition of the local residents, no conclusion has been reached.
Under these circumstances, representatives of the organization visited the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on the 17th and handed a petition to Mitsuaki Kamada, the director of the Pharmaceutical and Living Hygiene Bureau, which has jurisdiction over the graveyard.
It calls for at least one public graveyard in each prefecture where you can choose a burial method based on your faith, or to develop a burial area in an existing public graveyard.
Experts estimate that the number of Muslims living in Japan is about 230,000 at the end of the year due to the increase in foreign workers, which is about double the number 10 years ago.
Khan Muhammad Tahil Abbas, the representative of the organization that submitted the petition, said, "I want the country to recognize the problem and prepare a graveyard so that people of any culture can live their lives without worrying about the afterlife. ".