Secretary General of Japanese Muslims Association Hails King Salman Visit as History-Making

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake hands before a meeting in Tokyo, on March 13 — EPA photo.

Tokyo, 15 Jumadil Akhir 1438/14 March 2017 (MINA) – The Secretary of the Japanese Muslims Association Sheikh Amin Tokomats expressed utmost pleasure at the current visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Japan, pointing out that the visit means a lot for the Japanese, in general, and the Japanese Muslims, in particular, hailing the well-established cooperation between the two countries.

He lauded, also, Saudi contribution for the advancement of the Japanese Muslims, notably, the latest assistance to establish the new Islamic Center, in Tokyo, to be a high ground to diffuse cultural aspects of the moderate and right Islam, and to deliver the real message of Islam, SPA reported.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived in Tokyo on an extravagant visit to Japan along with an entourage of 1,000 people.

Islam was thought to come to Japan in the early 1900s when Muslim Tatars were escaping Russian expansionism.

Hundreds of Tatar Muslim refugees from Central Asia and Russia came to Japan during the wake of the October Revolution in the early 1900s.

These Muslims were given asylum in Japan and settled in several main cities around Japan, forming small communities.

The first Japanese to go on the Hajj was Kotaro Yamaoka. He converted to Islam in 1909 in Bombay, after coming into contact with Russian-born writer, Abdürresid Ibrahim, whereupon he took the name Omar Yamaoka. (T//RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)