June 18, 2026

Japanese Communist Party member of the Ichikawa City Assembly (Chiba Pref.) Shimizu Minako on June 17 criticized the city government for unjustly rejecting a request from a mosque to use a municipal park for Muslim events, stating that such an act will fuel hate speech and xenophobia.

The Gyotoku Hira Masjid (known as Hira Mosque) in Ichikawa City is the largest Muslim mosque in Chiba. For more than 30 years, the mosque used the adjacent park to perform ritual prayers as a group on the occasion of annual Muslim events, such as Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice).

However, in May, in response to the mosque’s application to use the park as in the previous years for the Feast of Sacrifice and congregational prayer, the city government decided to prohibit ritual prayer from being performed.

At a city assembly meeting on June 17, JCP Shimizu asked for explanations from the city government regarding its decision.

A government official in response said that the relevant authority determined to take appropriate measures to prevent a situation that could compromise the safety of park users. Asked by the JCP lawmaker about whether there had been any cases where the safety of park users was threatened, the official replied that no such cases have been reported.

Shimizu stated that the city authority refused to give permission on the grounds of concerns about the safety of park users even though there is no evidence that supports this assertion, and pointed out that this decision runs counter to the city’s guidelines for the promotion of a society that respects diversity. She criticized the city government’s decision for contributing to fueling anti-Muslim hatred and xenophobia.

The JCP assemblymember expressed her determination to work hard to protect the freedom of religion and assembly guaranteed to all citizens under the Constitution and to eliminate discrimination and xenophobia.