Japan needs more foreign workers, and the number of Muslim workers in Japan is also likely to grow. Bangladesh is one of the countries hoping to send more skilled workers under Japan’s foreign-worker programs.
I support this opportunity. But an unusual story from Japan’s past reminds us why governments should think not only about today’s needs, but also about what their decisions may mean decades later.
That story begins with mongooses whose ancestors came from the region of present-day Bangladesh.
The mongoose story began with Bangladesh
In 1910, mongooses were brought from the region that is now Bangladesh to Okinawa. They were introduced mainly to help control rats and venomous habu snakes.
Then, in 1979, around 30 mongooses from Okinawa were released on Amami Oshima. Again, Japan hoped they would help control snakes and rats.
The idea sounded reasonable. Mongooses were famous for fighting snakes, so they seemed like a useful solution.
But nature did not follow the plan. The mongooses found easier prey and began hunting rare native animals, including the Amami rabbit and other species found on the island.
From only around 30 animals, their population eventually grew into the thousands. At one point, Japan estimated that there were around 10,000 mongooses on Amami Oshima.
Japan then faced an irony. The animal introduced to solve one problem had itself become a serious problem.
A 45-year lesson
Japan eventually launched a major campaign to remove the mongooses. Thousands of traps were used, special teams were formed, and trained detection dogs helped search for the remaining animals.
The last confirmed mongoose was caught in 2018. Japan continued monitoring the island for several more years to make sure none remained.
Finally, in September 2024, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment officially declared the mongoose eradicated from Amami Oshima. From the release of around 30 animals in 1979 to the official declaration in 2024, the story lasted about 45 years.
The mongooses were not to blame. They simply behaved like animals naturally behave. The mistake was that people did not fully understand what could happen after introducing them into a new environment.
That is the lesson that interests me. Governments should not think only about the problem they need to solve today. They should also think about what their solution may mean many years later.
Japan now needs foreign workers
Japan faces a completely different problem in 2026. Its population is ageing, its workforce is shrinking, and many industries cannot find enough workers.
Japan is therefore accepting more foreign workers through programs such as the Specified Skilled Worker system. Bangladesh also wants to send more skilled workers to Japan.
I support this. Skilled Bangladeshis can work in Japan, earn better incomes, support their families and contribute to the Japanese economy. Japan also benefits because companies get workers at a time when labour shortages are becoming more serious.
There is also a personal reason why I welcome this opportunity. Some Indigenous people from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh are also coming to Japan for work.
They come from a region where Indigenous communities have faced long-standing discrimination, land problems and limited economic opportunities. Japan’s foreign-worker policy can give them a new opportunity to earn, build careers and create better futures through their own skills and hard work.
Indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) are non-Muslim. Many are Buddhist, while some are Christian and others follow traditional beliefs. Their presence also shows why the foreign-worker debate should never be reduced to one religion.
Japan’s labour policy can help people from disadvantaged minority communities while also helping Japanese businesses that need workers.
But an important question remains. When Japan accepts foreign workers, should skills be the only thing that matters?
A worker is more than a pair of hands
Japan naturally wants to know whether a foreign worker can do the job, speak enough Japanese and work safely. Those questions are important, but living successfully in another country requires more than work skills.
A foreign worker also brings culture, beliefs, habits and ideas about society. There is nothing wrong with that. Diversity itself is not the problem.
A Muslim does not need to stop being Muslim to live in Japan. A Christian, Hindu or Buddhist should not have to give up his or her faith either.
But every foreigner should understand one basic fact. Japan already has its own laws, culture, customs and religious traditions.
Foreigners should be free to keep their religion. They should not expect Japan to change its laws or public life according to that religion.
Why Muslim workers receive more public attention
There is a reason Muslim workers often receive more public attention in Japan than workers from some other religious backgrounds. Historically, Japan did not have a large Muslim population, and an established Muslim community here is relatively recent.
For many Japanese people, Islam is therefore still unfamiliar. More workers and students are now arriving from Muslim-majority countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and others, so questions about Islam are becoming more common.
There is also another uncomfortable issue. Violent Islamist extremist groups have committed serious crimes in different parts of the world while claiming to act in the name of religion. Those events have affected how some people think about Muslim immigration.
But Muslims and Islamist extremists are not the same thing. A peaceful Muslim worker should not be judged because an extremist somewhere else committed violence in the name of Islam.
This distinction matters to me personally because I come from Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country. I sometimes face questions simply because people know where I come from.
I do not want other Bangladeshis coming to Japan to face suspicion because of their nationality. A Bangladeshi Muslim who works hard, obeys Japanese law and respects other people should be judged as an individual.
At the same time, pretending that religious extremism does not exist is not the answer either. Japan should be able to discuss genuine security risks openly without treating every Muslim as a security risk.
The issue is not how many Muslims live in Japan. The issue is whether every newcomer accepts Japanese law, religious freedom and the rights of others.
The Shinto shrine controversy
A controversy in Miyazaki in May 2026 showed why religious respect matters.
A social-media video connected to Namigiri Shrine, within the Udo Jingu area of Miyazaki Prefecture, circulated with the Islamic adhan, or call to prayer. The man linked to the video was Kenji Sayed, an assistant professor at Miyazaki International University.
Some online posts wrongly described him as Bangladeshi, but the university lists his country of origin as Egypt.
There was also disagreement about what actually happened. Some reports said the adhan was performed at the shrine, while others said the audio was added later during video editing. That point has not been clearly settled, so it should not be presented as a confirmed fact.
What is clear is that the video caused strong criticism. Miyazaki International University later stressed the importance of respecting local communities and religious and cultural facilities.
That principle should be easy to understand. A Muslim would expect visitors to respect a mosque. Christians expect respect inside churches, and Buddhists expect visitors to behave properly inside temples.
Shinto shrines deserve the same respect. Religious freedom cannot mean that one religion demands respect while refusing to respect another.
Why this matters to me
I should make my own position clear. I am a foreigner living in Japan myself, so I am not writing this because I want Japan closed to foreigners.
I love Japan and respect the country that has allowed me to live here. I respect its laws, culture, religious traditions and the peaceful way most people live together.
That is exactly why I worry about Japan’s future. I have watched difficult debates in parts of Europe over immigration, integration, religious extremism and communities that become separated from wider society.
I do not want Japan to wait until similar tensions become serious before discussing them.
My concern is not that Muslims are coming to Japan. Muslims who work, obey Japanese law and respect other people should be as welcome as anyone else.
My concern begins when anyone comes to Japan believing that Japanese society should change to follow his or her religious rules. People should be free to practise their faith, but they should not be free to impose that faith on everyone else.
What I mean by Islamization
When I use the word “Islamization,” I do not mean that Japan becomes Islamic simply because more Muslims live here. A Muslim family working, studying, opening a business or peacefully practising Islam is not a threat to Japan.
My concern is about long-term pressure on public rules, schools, institutions or local customs. I also worry about communities becoming so separate that religious expectations begin to matter more than the common laws of the country.
Religion can grow across generations through migration, marriage, children and family traditions. Islam is no exception.
Traditional Islamic rules can also influence marriage and family religion. Under traditional Islamic law, a Muslim woman is generally expected to marry a Muslim man, while a Muslim man may marry a Christian or Jewish woman without requiring her to convert.
So it would be wrong to say that every person who marries a Muslim must become Muslim. But marriage, children and family traditions can still help a religion continue and grow over generations.
Europe gives a useful example of long-term demographic change. Pew Research Center estimated that Muslims made up about 4.9 percent of Europe’s population in 2016 and projected that the share could continue to rise through 2050 because of migration, age differences and fertility.
That demographic growth alone is not Islamization. My concern begins when growing religious communities seek changes in public rules, institutions or laws based on religious demands.
Demographic growth also does not automatically mean extremism or Islamic law. Those are different issues.
But it does show that immigration decisions made today can change the religious makeup of a society decades later. Japan should not panic about the future, but it should not refuse to think about it either.
Japan’s kindness should not become a weakness
One of the things I admire about Japan is its social harmony. Japanese people often avoid unnecessary conflict and try to accommodate others.
That is a strength, but tolerance should not mean that Japanese people become afraid to defend their laws, customs or sacred places because they fear being called intolerant.
A country can welcome foreigners without giving up its own identity. Foreigners should adjust to the basic rules of the country they choose to live in.
The host country should not be expected to completely change itself for every new religious or cultural demand.
Japanese law must come first
For Muslim workers in Japan, as for every other foreign worker, the principle should be simple. Japanese law must come first in Japan.
Muslims may practise Islam. Christians may practise Christianity. Buddhists, Hindus and people with no religion should enjoy the same freedom.
But no religious law should stand above Japanese law. This principle protects everyone because it prevents one religious group from gaining authority over another.
Japan should therefore prepare foreign workers not only for their jobs but also for life in Japanese society. Before arriving, workers should learn basic Japanese law, workplace behaviour, public manners and respect for religious and cultural places.
Japan should also screen genuine security risks such as links to violent extremist groups, terrorism, serious criminal activity or support for political violence. Those standards should apply to everyone, regardless of religion.
Being Muslim is not evidence of extremism. Supporting violence or refusing to respect the rights of others is a different matter.
People are not mongooses
This point is important. Bangladeshi workers are not mongooses, Muslims are not mongooses, and immigrants are not invasive animals.
The comparison in this article is about government policy, not people.
Human beings can learn, adapt and make choices. Foreign workers can become valuable members of Japanese society, and many already are.
The Amami story simply teaches that governments should not think only about the problem they need to solve today. They should also think about the long-term effects of the solution they choose.
In 1979, Japan wanted help controlling snakes and rats. Today Japan needs workers. These are completely different problems, but one policy question remains useful: what happens later?
Japan should think about the workers it needs today, but it should also think about integration twenty or thirty years from now. Will newcomers learn Japanese, respect Japanese law and become part of wider society? Will different communities live together peacefully?
Those are reasonable questions for any country.
Welcome workers, but protect Japan too
I want skilled Bangladeshis to come to Japan. I also want Indigenous people from the Chittagong Hill Tracts to benefit from these opportunities.
Muslim workers in Japan, like all foreign workers, should be welcomed when they come to work, contribute and respect the society around them. Japan should protect their freedom and dignity while also protecting its own laws, culture and social peace.
Japan should treat foreign workers fairly, protect them from exploitation and give them a real opportunity to become part of society. But foreigners also have responsibilities.
If Japan welcomes us, we should respect Japan. We should not arrive believing that Japan must slowly become like the society or religious culture we came from.
I say this as a foreigner myself. I came to Japan. Japan did not come to me.
I may not live in Japan forever, but while I am here, I care about what happens to this country. I do not want Japan’s peace damaged by religious extremism, intolerance or attempts to place religious rules above Japanese law.
The mongoose story took about 45 years to bring to an end. Human migration is completely different because people can learn, integrate and contribute.
But the policy lesson remains useful. Japan needs foreign workers, including Muslim workers. Let them come, protect their rights, give them opportunities and help them integrate.
At the same time, protect Japan’s laws, culture, religious freedom and social peace. Japan can remain open to the world without losing what makes Japan Japan.
You must be logged in to post a comment.