Managing Halal Knowledge in Japan: Developing Knowledge Platforms for Halal Tourism in Japan

This paper explores the development of halal knowledge embedded in the Japanese tourism industry from the perspective of knowledge management. Specifically, it examines the diffusion of halal standards and certifications in the Japanese tourism market and the creation of halal knowledge in the halal tourism market. Halal guidelines like halal standards and a certification system are being diffused by private halal consultants engaged in the halal certification business. However, these guidelines create contradictions and challenges in Japan’s tourism industry by revealing gaps between marketing analyses and Muslim tourists in Japan. Some discomforts and criticisms associated with halal guidelines reveal that halal is based more on tacit knowledge shaped in individual Muslim lifestyles and daily practices, than on explicit guidelines. As a result, the Japanese tourism industry has begun to recognize the importance both of halal knowledge’s tacit aspects and of knowledge platforms to create shared social contexts.