Mosques were once a rare sight in Japan, but no longer. The latest, Masjid Istiqlal Osaka, opened in Osaka’s Nishinari Ward last year. It is housed in a former factory building.

A former high-flying career diplomat and former executive chairman of the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR), Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, has described Abdullah as the perfect gentleman and a ...