There has been a surge in anti-Muslim rhetoric in Japan following Israel’s assaults on Gaza, a Japanese tutorial stated
Kayyim Naoki Yamamoto, a member of Marmara University Institute of Turkic Studies, informed Anadolu Agency (AA) that there was a rise within the anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian sentiments in his nation following the Oct. 7, 2023 assaults.
Yamamato, who was launched to Islam 15 years in the past and has been persevering with his tutorial research in Türkiye for years, stated that hate speech in opposition to Muslims has elevated with the rise within the votes of far-right events in Japan.
The tutorial pressured that xenophobia (hatred in opposition to foreigners), which has existed within the East Asian nation for a few years, become anti-Muslim after Israel’s assaults on Gaza.
“Japan is currently experiencing a negative change,” he said. “Xenophobia and anti-Muslim sentiments have elevated exponentially within the final 15 years.”
“The Japanese authorities doesn’t notice what sort of an issue the rising anti-Muslim sentiment will create,” he warned.
Pointing out that anti-Muslim sentiment within the nation has been on the rise like by no means earlier than, Yamamoto stated: “Japanese individuals already observe the U.S. politically and socially.”
“The U.S.’ pro-Israel stance through the Gaza assaults brought about the Japanese to grow to be anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim,” he pressured.
He famous that the Japanese individuals, who assist Israel, additionally pioneered anti-Muslim campaigns within the nation, mentioning that pro-Israel lobbies unfold hatred not solely in opposition to Palestine but additionally in opposition to different Muslim international locations.
Israel has waged a lethal army offensive, now in its 152nd day, on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas assault, which Tel Aviv stated killed almost 1,200 individuals.
More than 30,700 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of requirements.
Israel has additionally imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its inhabitants, notably residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of hunger.
The Israeli struggle has pushed 85% of Gaza’s inhabitants into inside displacement amid acute shortages of meals, clear water, and drugs, whereas 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been broken or destroyed, in response to the U.N.
Israel stands accused of genocide on the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to cease genocidal acts and take measures to ensure that humanitarian help is supplied to civilians in Gaza.
Disinformation by excessive far-right
The tutorial additional indicated that anti-Muslim sentiment in Japan will proceed to extend.
“Young Japanese are not marrying and the inhabitants just isn’t rising, however foreigners are marrying and having many youngsters,” he stated.
“Moreover, the rise in Japanese marrying foreigners causes the fascists within the nation to get indignant and goal Muslims,” he opined.
“Japan has never been a society open to foreign cultures throughout its history,” he emphasized, adding: “Japan has by no means lived with so many foreigners at any time in its historical past. We haven’t any such expertise.”
Pointing out that Japan, which is among the many international locations with getting older individuals, wants a international labor power, Yamamato stated: “The Japanese government’s move to bring people from abroad to work has triggered xenophobia in the country.”
Far-right teams within the nation try to create public opinion by reporting the damaging facets of immigrants, the tutorial stated, mentioning: “Far-right teams are spreading disinformation that if foreigners come to the nation, there shall be no good future and economic system.”
“They say: ‘We want to guard Japan from foreigners and Muslims. Japan belongs to the true Japanese, we have to do one thing in opposition to this invasion,” he acknowledged.
Converting to Islam
Yamamato additionally stated that he was launched to Islam 15 years in the past, because of his college professor and that he began learning classical Arabic at Kyoto University earlier than accepting Islam.
Explaining that he went to the Egyptian capital Cairo on the recommendation of his college professor and have become a Muslim there, he stated: “Before I grew to become a Muslim, I learn and analyzed books of different religions, however none of them appealed to me.”
“I used to be searching for a faith that lived among the many neighborhood … I used to be not searching for one thing individualistic that was solely tied to a series of guidelines,” he pressured.
“I went to Cairo during Ramadan and I was impressed by their solidarity with each other and I became a Muslim,” he recalled, adding: “In Cairo, I noticed that the humanitarian spirit that existed in Japan however had been misplaced was nonetheless there.”
The tutorial acknowledged that his non-religious household didn’t react negatively to his conversion, however that different Japanese households could react to this case: “New Japanese Muslims have issues as a result of they’ve transformed.”
“Whether this reaction is big or small varies from family to family,” he added.
Rise of far-right in Japan
Far-right activist actions within the Japanese political scene, which began in small lots within the early 2000s, have unfold over time.
The far-right group Zaitokukai, based in 2006, started protests claiming that “Koreans, Chinese and different immigrants will invade Japan.”
The group’s founder, Makoto Sakurai, elevated his 1.8% of the vote within the Tokyo gubernatorial election in 2016 to 2.9% within the 2020 election.
Zaitokukai, which regularly brings collectively anti-foreigner youth on social media platforms, argues: “Japan belongs solely to Japanese individuals and that foreigners are an impediment to the nation’s progress.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com