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  • 2015-11-17 (xsd:date)
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  • Japan Keeps Islam at Bay? (id)
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  • A widely circulated meme purportedly outlines several factors that have allowed Japan to keep Islam at bay, but the majority of these claims are either false or misleading: For instance, the claim that Japan is the only nation that does not give citizenship to Muslims is false. According to Becoming Legally Japanese, a web site dedicated to immigration issues in Japan, the application form for Japanese citizenship does not require applicants to identify their religion: The claim that in Japan permanent residency is not given to Muslims is also false. The Guidelines for Permission for Permanent Residence published by the Immigration Bureau of Japan make no mention of religion. In fact, according to an article published by the Asian Quarterly, the Japanese government does not inquire about religion: While it's true that the International University of Japan does not teach Arabic or Islamic languages (according to the university's web site, only English and Japanese language courses are offered), the country has not banned the teaching of Islamic languages. The Arabic Islamic Institute in Tokyo, for instance, offers an Arabic-Japanese translation course. There is also no truth to the claim that that you cannot import a Koran into Japan. There are several mosques operating in Japan. and according to an article on the web site Japan Focus about Muslims living in Japan, at least one mosque teaches both Koranic studies and the Arabic language: While the claim that Japan is the only country in the world that has a negligible number of embassies in Islamic countries hinges on the definition of negligible, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains embassies in several predominantly Islamic countries, including Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Comoros, and Egypt. Several of the other rumors in the meme can be debunked by the facts previously stated, using common sense (e.g., with approximately 100,000 Muslims living in Japan it is reasonable to assume that some of them are renting apartments), or by reading the 14th article of Japan's constitution: The one claim that the above-displayed meme did get right is the assertion that there is no Shariah Law in Japan. Article 20 of Japan's constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion to all Japan citizens, also states that religious organizations cannot exercise political authority: The meme does not showcase different ways that Japan has been able to keep Islam at bay. In fact, the country's immigration policies may have helped the Muslim population grow: (en)
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