The problem is not group prayer itself.
People are free to believe.
People are free to pray.
The real problem begins when a religious act in a public space turns into pressure on society:
“Accept our religious demands.”
“Change your rules for us.”
“Make exceptions because of our faith.”
Once that line is crossed, it does not stop at prayer.
Next come demands over food.
Then clothing.
Then schools.
Then public facilities.
Then laws and social norms.
And eventually, a secular society is told to bend itself around one religion’s values.
Europe has already seen this tension grow under the names of immigration policy and multiculturalism.
The boundary between freedom of religion and religious pressure became blurred.
And ordinary citizens were left to deal with the consequences.
Freedom of faith must be protected.
But it does not mean one religion has the right to reshape an entire society around its rules.
Japan still has time.
That is why we must make the line clear now:
Where faith is protected,
and where imposition begins.
Let's face the facts: either Sikhs should not be allowed to carry kirpans — the very blades that killed Henry Nowak — or the public should be able to carry knives, since the current law is clearly not working.
Justice must be applied equally to all.