The article is devoted to the analysis of the formation of the image of Islam in Japan during the period from the second half of the 19th to the 21st century. The image of Islam is considered on the basis of research publications, translations and philosophical works of Japanese Muslims and followers of the Pan-Asian ideology (including the texts of Okawa Shumei, Tanaka Ippei, Ariga Bunpachiro, Wakabayashi Han, Izutsu Toshihiko). The article provides the first analysis of the latest translation of the Quran into Japanese, completed by Mizutani Makoto and Sugimoto Kyoichiro in 2019. The modern image of Islam in Japan is considered through memoirs of Japanese Muslims and collections of interviews with the Japanese Muslim community. An additional source of research of the media image of Islam in Japan was the first manga by Hamed Nuri on Islam’s subject called “Satoko and Nada”.

The author separates three periods of formation of the image of Islam in Japan. In the first period, from the second half of the 19th to the first half of the 20th century, the sparked interest in Islam is associated with the development of Pan-Asian ideology. At this time, a positive image of Islam as a religion that can contribute to the implementation of the Pan-Asian project and the fight against the West is being formed. Starting from the second half of the 20th century and until the beginning of the 21st century, Islam began to be perceived as one of the foreign religions, which has no essential connection with Japanese culture. Since 11 September 2011, a gradual transformation of the image of Islam can be observed. On the one hand, the image acquires negative connotations. On the other hand, the work of the Japanese Muslim community contributes to the image of Islam as a religion that is not contradicting the Japanese culture and ways of daily life.