TOKYO – Muslim athletes participating in 2020 Tokyo Olympic games will be offered halal food thanks to the agreement reached on Saturday to regulate that in Japan, Asharq Al-Awsat reported March 18.
“There’s an important cooperation between MWL and Japan,” said Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, the Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), as he signed an agreement with the Chairman of Japan Halal Association (JHA), Seiji Sakata, to regulate halal food in Japan.
“The Japanese people enjoy a high level of coexistence, national integration and harmony pervasive across all religions, sects, and races, away from extremism. The human values and ethics are deeply instilled within the Japanese people,” Al-Issa expressed.
The cooperative arrangement allows the MWL to be exclusively responsible for regulating halal food in Japan, including the occasion of upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
This means that the MWL will be permitted to issue halal certificates; whether to the Muslim community in Japan or to exports going abroad, especially to Muslim countries.
Moreover, overseeing imported products and ensuring that their legal and procedural standards are applied will also be among the MWL’s tasks.
Meanwhile, Dr. Noka Miyagima, CEO of the NGOs, regarded the signing of this agreement as a “historic and empowering event for Japan.”
He continued: “We appreciate the numerous social contributions of MWL, and we seek further cooperation in the future through this halal project.”
The signing ceremony was attended by Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi, special adviser to the Japanese prime minister, and Prince Hiroyoshi, the cousin of the Emperor, along with a number of representatives of Islamic centers, Japanese authorities and major companies.
The Muslim World League is a pan-Islamic NGO based in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and its mission is to propagate Islamic teachings. It’s been funded by the Saudi government since its inception in 1962.
“We praise the role the MWL is playing in raising the awareness of Muslim communities in Japan and in the Islamic world, and promoting their integration into non-Muslim communities,” Miyagima expressed.
Japan is a new but sharply growing halal market as the country’s producers are seeking fresh opportunity in the halal sector and striving to seek new local and international markets, especially now that Japan is the officially designated venue for the 2020 Olympics, attracting Muslim athletes and tourists from all around the world.