Japan’s struggle to accept outsiders has been exposed once again after a video of a right-wing lawmaker arguing against Muslim burials went viral.
The video showed Mizuho Umemura, a House of Councillors member from the populist Sanseito party, objecting to the burial of Muslim residents during a parliamentary debate late last month.
She argued that cremation was a vital national custom practised by more than 99 per cent of Japanese people and said that approving new burial grounds for Muslims would be inappropriate given land constraints and concerns about groundwater contamination.
Responding to calls for Muslim residents’ burial options to be expanded, Umemura reportedly said that foreigners settling in Japan should be told that if they die “they can either be cremated or have their remains repatriated” at their own expense.
Her remarks triggered a wave of online debate about balancing respect for cultural heritage with the realities of a changing population in the ageing nation.
“The foreigners should respect the country’s laws and traditions,” read one reply to a social media post on the controversy. “What about the Muslim citizens of Japan?” asked another. “Those who are not foreigners are actually natives born there. They believe in the Islamic way.”
