Kitakyushu โคCity Targeted with Hate โAfter False Claims About School Lunches
Kitakyushu, Japan – The city of Kitakyushu is grappling with a surge of โขharassment and misinformation following false claimsโ circulating online that itโข was prioritizingโ “Muslim โlunches” over customary Japanese meals for schoolchildren. โคThe unfounded allegations sparked a wave of complaints, including threatening messages โคdirectedโค atโ school staff and city officials, disrupting โคdaily operations and exposing a growing undercurrent of anti-Muslim sentiment in Japan.
The controversy beganโข in September 2024, when local media โคreported that some schools โin Kitakyushu had begun โoffering halal meal options to accommodate a small number of Muslim students. This initiative,mirroring similar effortsโ in other Japaneseโ cities like Ibaraki,was quickly โขdistorted online,with social media โคposts falsely asserting that the city was eliminating or reducing standard lunches to โcater exclusively to Muslim dietary needs. These claims,โ amplified by right-wing groups and individuals, led to a flood of complaints to the city government and schools, many containing abusive language and threats. The Mainichi โShimbun reported that the city wasโ actively combating โขthe โคspread of misinformation, โbut the damage had already been done.
Japan’s increasing, though still relatively small, foreign population โข- currentlyโฃ around 3.6% – isโค prompting a national conversationโ about inclusivity and cultural accommodation.โ Whileโ cities like โฃKitakyushu โand Ibaraki are attempting โto addressโค theโฃ dietary needs of their diverse studentโ bodies, including offering halal and considering vegan options, these efforts are encountering resistance from those who โฃfear a dilution of Japanese culture. โThe Kitakyushu case highlights the vulnerability of these initiatives โขto โmanipulation and the potential for online disinformation to fuel real-world animosity. โฃ
The Sakaiโค Elementary School in Osaka, such as, successfully introduced halal school lunches in September 2025, with 23 foreign โstudents experiencing the meals for โขtheโข first โtime. โขTen-year-old Fatima Yussuf, a fourth โgrader from Pakistan, expressed โher satisfaction, stating, โฃ”My โfirstโ school lunch โคwas flavorful.I was happy to eat โtogether with everyone.” This contrasts sharply with theโฃ unfriendly environment created in โฃKitakyushu.
The โขincident underscores the challenges Japan faces in โขnavigating religious andโข dietary diversity, and theโข willingness of some to exploit anxieties surrounding immigration to sow division. City officials in Kitakyushu are working to clarify the facts โand restore calm, โbut the long-term impact on the city’sโ efforts to foster inclusivity remains uncertain.
Sources:
* “Kitakyushu city spreads misinformation to Muslim school โlunch” โ city floods with complaints,โ disrupting โworkโ – https://mainichi.jp/articles/20250923/k00/00m/040/203000c
* Muslim children also โeat together halal school meals in two โtowns of Ibaraki – https://mainichi.jp/articles/20240908/k00/00m/040/029000c