A Japanese town wrestles with identity after protests over its first mosque

Today, it's a field of grass. But soon, it'll be the site of the first mosque in this Japanese town. "It makes me worry about how our community might change," says long-time resident Noriko Izumizawa. Plans to build an Islamic religious site in Fujisawa, a laid-back seaside town about an hour's drive south of Tokyo, have sparked a wide range of emotions. There is anger and fear, as well as hope and acceptance, exposing the growing anxieties over immigration and social change as Japan grapples with a labour shortage from a shrinking and ageing population. Although immigration remains politically sensitive...