Japanese government drops bill to revise immigration law amid opposition The government decided Tuesday to withdraw a bill revising rules on how to accommodate foreign nationals facing deportation, ruling coalition lawmakers said, amid criticism over the alleged improper treatment of a Sri Lankan woman who died while held at an immigration facility. Japan Times, 18 May 2021
Proposed immigration law revision sparks debate A controversial draft revision to Japan's immigration law has sparked fierce debate among lawmakers. It would change rules on detaining foreign nationals facing deportation orders. NHK World, 14 May 2021.
Sri Lankan's death in spotlight as Japan debates immigration bill The death of a Sri Lankan woman detained at a central Japan immigration facility has been in the spotlight as parliament debates a controversial bill to revise the immigration law that is feared will worsen conditions for asylum seekers in Japan. Kyodo News, 12 May 2021.
Japan’s Changing Immigration and Refugee Policy This article considers different views on the recent proposed changed to the immigration law, the history of japan's refugee policy, its current strict acceptance policy and conditions in detention for asylum seekers and migrants. The Diplomat, 12 March 2021.
Foreigners in fear of Japan's immigration proposals Foreign communities in Japan, and their local supporters, are calling for lawmakers to scrap proposed changes to the country's immigration law. The revisions, which critics describe as inhumane, involve the forcible deportation of asylum-seekers who fail to prove a case to stay as refugees. NHK World, 1 May 2021.
Death at immigration facility raises questions about medical care The death of a Sri Lankan woman, Wishma, at a Japanese immigration facility last month highlights what experts fear is a systemic failure to provide proper medical care. NHK World. 15 April 2021
Japan’s immigration policy under scrutiny This article and a video that is included with it looks at criticisms of japan's very strict policy on acceptance of refugees and it use of detention for asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. NHK World, 27 Nov 2020.
Coronavirus Crisis Sheds Light On The Struggle Of Asylum-Seekers In Japan This is a short article which summarises the experiences of asylum seekers in Japan during the pandemic from some recent newspaper articles. It also suggests that a reason the government uses detention is to try and force asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected to return to the countries they fled from, which is usually very dangerous for them. The Organisation for World peace, 9 Jun 2020.
Foreign detainees let go temporarily amid pandemic have nowhere to go This article which tells the story of a Nepalese asylum seeker in Nagasaki describes the programme for releasing asylum seekers from detention into provisional release and reports on the very difficult conditions that asylum seekers on provisional release face. Japan Times, 25 Dec 2020.
'If the virus gets in, it will spread like wildfire': Refugees confined to detention centers believe they're sitting ducks for COVID-19 This is a long article reporting the experiences of many asylum seekers in detention. They describe the situation they are in at the Tokyo Regional Immigration BureaDetention Centre in Shinagawa and their fears about catching Covid-19 because of the conditions there. The article also reports on calls for people in detention to be released because of the threat of contracting Covid-19 in detention. It also mentions the work of Sophia Refugee Support Group, a student group which visits asylum seekers in dentin and supports them in other ways. See the article below for more on this group. Japan Times, 4 May 2020. (This is a longer version of the above article with more references: The Whole Block Goes Down: Refugees in Japan’s detention centers during the pandemic)
A Sophia University student group is building the bridges that refugees need This article explains the activities of the student-organized Sophia Refugee Support Group (SRSG) at Sophia University which include visits to asylum seekers in detention centres, refugees cafes for new arrivals to Japan, and language classes for asylum seekers. Japan Times, 14 Aug 2019.
Asylum seekers in Japan face battle for survival in time of coronavirus: The Japan Association of Refugees says we must change the fact that some people have no safety net here This article considers how the Coronavirus has affected asylum seekers in japan, particularly at the situation of those on provisional release who rely on the support of their families in their home countries or supporters in Japan, because they are not allowed to work, and argues that Japan should provide a welfare safety net for these asylum seekers. It also explains how the coronavirus has affected the work of the Japan Association for Refugees. Japan Times, 27 Jun 2020.
The Desperation of Japan’s Detained Asylum Seekers: A look back at the wave of hunger strikes among detained asylum seekers in Japan last year. This article tells the stories of some of the asylum seekers in Ushiku Detention center who stopped eating and went on hunger strike in 2019 to protest against their situation, explaining the desperation of their situation. It describes how the government has released some detainees into provisional release who became unwell because of their hunger strikes, but has then returned them to detention after a few weeks. It also explains, at the end of the “Here There Is No Future” section, that detention is used for asylum seekers whose applications are rejected to try to get them to agree to be deported to the country they escaped from, which the asylum seekers say is impossible because it is too dangerous for them. The Diplomat, 18 Sep 2020.
Intensifying rights abuses against foreigners held in detention put Japan on dangerous path The grave situation caused by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan's policy of keeping foreigners in Japan in long-term detention over visa violations has reached the point that a detainee at one facility was reported to have starved to death. Mainichi, 20 Nov, 2019.
Detention Profile Japan Information on the use of detention in Japan from the International Detention Project
Japan’s masochistic approach to immigration More than half the women in the Tokyo Detention center are non-Japanese being held for overstaying their visas. This article looks at the situation of undocumented workers (workers without visas in Japan) and their treatment in detention centres. Japan Times, 13 Jun 2015.
Immigration detention centers like prisons, U.K. inspectors say This article looks at conditions in Japanese detention centers and compares the system of detention centers in Japan with that in Britain. Japan Tiimes, 6 Feb, 2015
Two men die at immigration center Two detainees at an immigration center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, died over the weekend, an official said Monday, just months after the death of another man at the same facility. Japan Times, Mar 31, 2014.
System ‘failing asylum seekers’ The recent death of a Myanmar detainee at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau underlines the inadequate medical treatment asylum seekers face nationwide from chronic staff shortages, experts say. Japan Times, 2 Nov 2013.
Detention center staff fail to aid dying asylum seeker: NGO A Myanmar asylum seeker collapsed and died after staff at a Japanese immigration center refused other detainees’ requests to summon a doctor, allegedly because he was on his lunch break, a pressure group has said. Japan Times, Oct 27, 2013.
Shorter detention of asylum seekers set A short article about an agreement between the Ministry of Justice and civil society organisations that recognises international criticism of the slow process of judging asylum claims and of the detention of asylum seekers in Japan, and that seeks to shorten the process and provide housing for asylum seekers. Japan Times, 11 Feb, 2012.
Detainees’ families fighting for dignity — and hugs: No-contact rule targeted as part of wider bid to improve conditions at immigration center, Japan Times, 27 Mar 2012.
Asylum Seekers In Japan Face Difficult Obstacles "The few refugees who reside in Japan say they are treated poorly and are detained for long periods of time." This report allegations of mistreatment of asylum seekers in detention centres. You can read and listen to this story from National Public Radio, 01 Jun, 2011.
Decade-long wait takes toll on asylum seeker: Periods in detention, 10 years in legal limbo leave Iranian with mental, physical scars An article about Jamal Saberi, an Iranian asylum seeker who had spent 10 years waiting to get refugee status and the effects on his health of being held in a detention center, sometimes in solitary confinement. The article includes an interview with Dr Junpei Yamamura from the Minatomachi Clinic in Yokohama who regularly visits Yokohama Detention Center and says many asylum seekers have similar experiences and medical problems to Saberi's. Japan Times, 5 Oct, 2010.
Abuses of Refugee Women in Immigration Centers by Misaki Yagishita. Voices from Japan, 2008
Persecuted Foreigners--- Human Rights Violation at Immigration Center under the Ministry of Justice --- by Yamamura Jumpei M.D. A detailed report on the medical treatment and health conditions of asylum seekers and people without visas in detention centres that argues: "At Japanese immigration centers, prolonged confinement deteriorates the detainee’s health, yet no adequate medical care is provided". Solidarity with Migrants Network Japan, 22 March, 2005.
Doctor hits immigration center health care: Long detention in packed cells spawns medical ills getting little attention An article about a report submitted by Dr Junpei Yamamura to the Justice Ministry’s Immigration Bureau on the health conditions of the detainees he saw between August 2003 and September 2004 at Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, that claims that foreigners without visas and people seeking asylum held at the center receive poor medical care, and some are suffering serious illnesses during their long detention. Japan Times, 16 Nov 2004. For a full report on medical conditions in detention centres, see above.
Human chain draws attention to plight of detained foreigners Hundreds of people protested to the Ministry of Justice about the plight of more than 1,000 foreigners, including asylum seekers held at detention centers across the country. Human rights lawyers and campaigners in Japan have protested over what they describe as undue, lengthy detention periods faced by these foreigners and called on the Justice Ministry to create a more open and multicultural society, with particular regard to the interests of asylum-seekers. Japan Times, Oct. 14, 2004.
Immigration Detention-Useful Resources from the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
>>>> See also Provisional Release >>>>
A review of assistance programmes for asylum seekers and refugees in Japan by Naoko Obi, UNHCR, Tokyo, Japan, July 2013.
Alternatives to Detention and Expanding alternatives to immigration detention in Japan International Detention Coalition
Detention monitoring newly established in Japan by Naoko Hashimoto Forced Migration Review
Country fact sheet on Japan from the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network - includes a mention of dialogue between the Japanese government and NGOs on alternatives to detention.
NGO Statement: NGOs in Japan, jointly and after consultation, submit these Pledges: For consideration by the Government of Japan Includes pledges on alternatives to detention. This seems to be policies that the NGOs want the Japanese government to take up. Forum for Refugees, Japan, 2011.
Detention, alternatives to detention, and deportation "Detention of refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants is widely used by many states as part of their migration management strategy, often as the precursor to deportation. However, there are viable, more humane alternatives". This is an issue of Forced Migration Review with articles about alternatives to detention around the world.
Global Trends in Immigration Detention and Alternatives to Detention: Practical, Political and Symbolic Rationales by Robyn Sampson, La Trobe University and Grant Mitchell, International Detention Coalition. This is a quite long article which includes a short section on "Policy changes including a reduction in detention numbers - Japan" on page 103. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 2014.
難民申請者の収容代替措置（ATD）に関する事業報告書の発表 This is a report in Japanese on a pilot program to try out alternatives to detention in Japan. Japan Association for Refugees, 15 Mar, 2015.
The Network Aiming at Coexistence with Refugees in Japan (RAFIQ ) This is an organisation supporting refugees and visiting asylum seekers held in detention centres which focuses on refugees from Afghanistan.
Kapatiran is a Filipino church-based NGO that provides support services for migrants including visits to detention centers.
Provisional Release Association in Japan A group of former detainees, supporting both both asylum seekers and migrant worker visa over-stayers who are detained: "We are campaigning for a proper resident status in order to live a secure life in Japan. Also, what we fear the most now is re-detention. We strongly demand the Immigration Control not to violate our human rights by re-detaining us."
Japan Association for Refugees (JAR) This is an organization that helps refugees to live in Japan safely and independently.
International Social Service Japan "ISSJ counsels refugee status applicants who come to ISSJ seeking assistance through the UNHCR and who are detained for long periods of time with the Japanese Immigration Bureau."
レインボー・アクション難民支援プロジェクト/Rainbow Action Refugee Support Project provides support for sexual minority refugees including visits to them in detention.
茨城県・牛久収容所（東日本入国管理センター）へ行こう！(Free JAMAL Campaign) This webpage has some photo Ushiku detention centre.
牛久の会（牛久入管収容所問題を考える会） BLOG It is an organization which helps detainees in Ushiku detention center.
CLOVER (Care & LOVE for Refugees)～難民と共に歩むユース団体～ is an organization in Tsukuba Uni which supports detainees.
Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees (JLNR) Lawyers’ network founded in 1997 to fight for refugees’ human rights.
Asian People's Friendship Society An organisation providing support and counseling for foreigners, especially undocumented migrants (migrants without a correct visa), in Japan.