Japan is a country where cremation is the norm. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare recorded 99.97% of deaths in 2022 as cremations, with just 490 burials, according to nippon.com.
Burial is legal but rare. According to the same article, the handful of cemeteries that accept burials are mainly in the Kantō region around Tokyo, and the Honjō Kodama Cemetery in Saitama is one that offers plots for Muslims and people of other faiths. Kyūshū and the Chūgoku region have none. Muslim families who want a burial therefore often have to plan well ahead.
Tanada Hirofumi, professor emeritus of Waseda University, estimates the Muslim population of Japan at around 350,000 as of 2024, as reported by nippon.com. The number of foreign residents who practise Islam has risen, so demand for burial that follows Islamic practice is growing.
Source: Where to Bury the Dead? A Pressing Dilemma for a Diversifying Japan, nippon.com.
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