Salam and hello!
Japan may have few Muslims, but there are companies ready to accommodate the working Muslims.

Today I, as a Muslim, want to share a bit with you about the working environment in Japan.

As you may know, Muslims have certain practices they must do in their lives. Some are fasting during Ramadan (fasting month in Islam), Hajj (annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, must do at least once in a lifetime) and daily prayers.
For daily prayers, Muslims must pray 5 times a day: Fajr (sunrise prayer), Dhuhr (noon prayer), Asr (late at the afternoon prayer), Maghrib (sunset prayer), and Isha (night prayer). Prayer times are based on the sun, so the timings are different each season in Japan.

How do working Muslims pray in Japan?
It’s been almost 2 years since I entered J-Line Corporation, the Japanese company operating Salam Groovy Japan. My working period will overlap with some praying times, which is Dhuhr, Asr and Maghrib. To accommodate my practices as a Muslim, my company actually prepared a space for praying.

Recently we had an office clean-up to create a safer and more comfortable work environment. We moved the prayer space from the 9th floor to my department on the 11th floor. So I can save time from going back and forth between two floors.
The prayer space uses wooden separators to give some privacy and tatami mats as the flooring.

We’re getting near the end of 2021, which will be the “nenmatsu nenshi” in Japan. Nenmatsu Nenshi (年末年始) literally means “year-end, year beginning” that covers the very last days of the current year and the first days of the new one. It usually is around 29th December until 3rd January, which most companies will close during this period.
When you want to collaborate with companies in Japan, you may want to bear this in mind.

Our company will also be on holiday from 29th December 2021 (Wed.) until 4th January 2022 (Tue) for the nenmatsu-nenshi break. We will continue to deliver Muslim-friendly updates on technology, tourism and more in Japan.

Have a happy new year, and may next year be a better year for all of us! 

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