Tokyo/IBNS, Dec. 3 -- A Japanese lawmaker has ignited fresh controversy after publicly rejecting proposals to expand Muslim burial grounds in the country, highlighting ongoing tensions between Japan's traditional practices and the demands of its increasingly diverse population.

Mizuho Umemura, a member of the conservative Sanseito party, argued during a parliamentary committee session that Japan does not need additional burial sites, pointing to the nation's overwhelming preference for cremation and longstanding religious and cultural norms.

Umemura stressed that more than 99% of funerals in Japan involve cremation-an outcome shaped by centuries-old Buddhist and Shinto traditions, as well as limited land availability in this densely pop...