Japanese authorities have ordered the removal of a massive illegally built mosque that was inaugurated by Pakistan’s ambassador.
The Ramadan Grand Mosque northwest of Tokyo was built by a Pakistani immigrant without permission in an urbanisation control zone in a rural part of Kawagoe in Saitama Prefecture.
The mosque, which features a large white dome, was completed despite repeated stop work orders from local authorities stretching back to 2024, with construction workers telling inspectors they did not speak Japanese.
The owner eventually promised to demolish the building within five years, but instead held a grand opening ceremony just a month later on April 3, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
The event was attended by a large number of foreign nationals and Ambassador Abdul Hameed, who described the mosque as a symbol of inclusion and friendship.
The Pakistani Embassy in Japan has since said the ambassador “accepted the invitation based on the information that all permits had been obtained there in accordance with Japanese law”.
It also urged Pakistani nationals to “fully comply with Japanese laws in all matters, especially regarding the construction of places of worship”.
Kawagoe Mayor Hatsue Morita said last week “we cannot tolerate the current situation” and that the building had to be removed, Sankei News reported.
“It is an illegal building constructed without permission in an urban development control area,” she said.
“We want this building to be demolished as soon as possible and we are considering how to guide [the owners].”
City officials said they had difficulty identifying the buyer and who commissioned the building work due to the language barrier, but ordered construction to be halted in December 2024.
In March 2025 ownership was transferred to a company owned by a Pakistani registered at the same address as the mosque, and submitted a corrective plan to the city where it tried to claim the building had been standing from the beginning.
“This is a place for us to pray. The building was already there before we bought the land, we did not build it,” the father of the Pakistani owner said.
“We are discussing plans to demolish it, but demolition also costs money, so it is difficult. Right now, we are talking with the city about what to do.”
Local authorities said the removal order was not religiously motivated.
“We are not making an issue out of this because it is a mosque, we issue corrective guidance for any illegal structure,” officials said.
“This building was constructed without city permission, and we are continuing our guidance with demolition and removal as the ultimate goal.”
As of the end of 2024 the Muslim population of Japan had grown to an estimated 420,000, according to a study by Professor Emeritus Tanada Hirofumi of Waseda University, with about 160 mosques across the country.
Header image: Left, the Pakistani Ambassador (third from right) at the opening ceremony (Ash (X – Kemal_Bourguiba). Right, the mosque (supplied).
