Islamic mosque / Moschee

回教寺院 kaikyô-jiin

The “Kôbe Islam Mosque” was the first mosque in Japan, built in 1935. The need for the construction of a mosque in Kôbe was recognised because of the increase in the number of Muslims migrating to the city. Since the 1990s, there has been an increasing number of mosques being built across the Japanese archipelago, from Okinawa all the way to Hokkaidô. Even though there are currently over 90 mosques throughout Japan, most Japanese are unaware of it. Nevertheless, as there is an increasing number of movements and initiatives that aimed to promote understanding of Islam and Muslims in recent years, more and more mosques are accepting mosque tours and organizing events for Japanese to participate.