Fujisawa, Kanagawa Pref. ¨C A mosque construction project in Fujisawa, a city of 440,000 about an hour south of Tokyo, has become a focal point for debate over how Japanese communities are adapting to a growing Muslim population.

Sri Lankan businessman Mohamed Khaleel, 54, says the idea of building a mosque in his adopted hometown emerged over a decade ago among the local Muslim community. The closest big mosque to the city center, Ebina Masjid, is 20 kilometers away and has been struggling to serve the increasing Muslim population in the area.

In 2021, Khaleel and other local Muslims settled on the 980-square-meter site of an abandoned factory on the northern outskirts of Fujisawa. Then they set up the Fujisawa Masjid NPO, raised funds, purchased the land and began the slow process of obtaining the various building permissions required.

¡°It was not easy getting the permit,¡± Khaleel says. ¡°We had so many struggles, but we didn¡¯t give up.¡±

Hirofumi Tanada, a professor emeritus at Waseda University, estimates that approximately 420,000 Muslims live in Japan, including 25,000 in Kanagawa Prefecture. The growth of this demographic has led to a tenfold increase in the number of mosques since the turn of the millennium.

After a series of consultations with the local community and much red tape, permission for the mosque was finally granted by the city last year and preparation work began, starting with the demolition of the old factory and the construction of the building¡¯s drainage system.

Then, in late 2025, in the run-up to February¡¯s Lower House election, conservative YouTuber Susumu Kikutake entered the race for the Kanagawa No. 12 seat, which covers Fujisawa, as an independent on an anti-immigration platform. His campaign, carried out online and in rallies in front of train stations, focused largely on opposing the mosque¡¯s construction.

Ali Al-Hakim, 61, a Syrian member of the mosque committee who asked to use a pseudonym because of his work situation, says he was shocked when he heard about Kikutake¡¯s campaign and struggled to understand his motivation for attacking the Muslim community.

¡°In his speeches, he didn¡¯t speak about the economy, about education, about the pension system ¡ª about issues important to Japanese people,¡± he says. ¡°On his poster, there¡¯s only his name and one phrase: ¡®I am against the mosque.¡¯¡±

Kikutake, 54, presents his campaign as a grassroots effort by a ¡°citizen who loves this city¡± and has ¡°risen up together with like-minded individuals to protect the peaceful living environment and safety of the community.¡±

He says he wants to see the mosque project halted and more discussions be held until local residents are satisfied, even though Fujisawa Masjid says no substantive objections to the construction had been raised...