NIIGATA (Kyodo) Hundreds of mostly Pakistani Muslims are forming communities in the Sea of Japan prefectures of Niigata and Toyama, thriving in businesses linked to exports of secondhand cars to Russia and the Middle East.
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| About 100 Muslim men come to Islamic Center Niigata each week for Friday prayers. The facility in the prefectural capital is near Higashi port. KYODO PHOTO |
"Here is Little Pakistan," joked one Niigata resident. "Japanese people need a visa (to come here). I don't have a chance to talk to any Japanese."
The man said he lives, works and eats in a restaurant in the environs of Higashi port, about 20 km from the heart of the city of Niigata.
About 200 Pakistanis work in the port area, where used-car dealers display signboards painted green -- the color of the Pakistani flag. The language spoken is Urdu, but Russians can also be seen bicycling around the district.
Standing silently and inconspicuously behind a factory, a prefabricated mosque without a dome attracts about 100 Muslim men each week for Friday prayers. Chanting words from the Quran, they stand up and bow toward Mecca. They listen to a sermon delivered by Amjad Hassan, 43, an assistant professor at Niigata University who serves as their imam.
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