This recent video, especially Shogo Watanabe's contribution, explains very well the Japanese government's policy on refugee acceptance and reasons why the government rejects so many refugee application. Shogo Watanabe is a graduate of Chuo Law Faculty who has supported asylum seekers, refugees, and migrant workers in Japan in many legal cases. Foreign Corespondants Club, 2 Oct, 2015.
Nation fails to make most of refugees: Driven to excel, asylum seekers key to economic growth, journalist says Refugees in Japan are acutely underutilized and the nation should stop turning a blind eye to their skills and potential if it wants to generate economic growth, according to freelance journalist Kaoru Nemoto. She used to work at the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and argues that Japan must change its traditionally insular mindset and unwillingness to accept asylum seekers. Japan Times, May 10, 2013. (*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase ProQuest)
Refugee status denial puts family in limbo: Detained Myanmar activist fights to stay here with kin, avoid deportation Khin Maung Latt of Myanmar, his Filipino wife, Maria Hope Jamili, and their two daughters have no place to call home but Japan, and they are on shaky ground. The couple met and married in Tokyo, speak to each other in Japanese, until recently had a steady income and witnessed the birth of their two girls here -- kids who speak only Japanese -- but like their parents are not legal residents. Japan Times, Nov. 13, 2003. (*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase Nexis Uni)
Despair engulfs Pakistani asylum seekers Refugee family victim of Japan's politicized immigration policies? Nasir Qadri, his wife, Shaheena, and their five children are asylum seekers who arrived in Japan on Aug. 25, 2009. But although they have survived the March 11 quake and months of hand to mouth existence, they are in despair and threatening suicide because the money they received from the Refugee Assistance Headquarters was stopped suddenly, leaving them effectively destitute. Japan Times, 25 Mar, 2011. (*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase Nexis Uni)
Status Denied: Kurdish Asylum Seeker Speaks from His Holding Cell This article explains the situation of Mehmet Colak, a 38 year old Kurdish asylum seeker who has been in Japan 14 years after coming to join his brother in Kawaguchi City. His wife and oldest child also joined him in Japan and he now has two children born in Japan but is being held in immigration detention in Tokyo. The article also has information about Welgee, a group supporting refugees and asylum seekers, and the views about asylum seekers on provisional release of former Minister of Justice Kamikawa Yōko. Nippon.com. 17 Aug 2018.
Citing harsh conditions, Myanmar refugee families refuse farm work "Two Myanmar families who came to Japan from Thailand last year under a U.N.-sponsored settlement program have refused to work on a farm in Chiba Prefecture due to the conditions, according to a member of a lawyer group representing them." Japan Times, 28 Sep, 2011.
Karen refugees snub farm, try luck in Tokyo This article reports that two Karen refugee families from Burma have refused the farm work they were given because of the BAD working conditions. It also looks at criticism of the Resettlement programme for Karen refugees run by the Japanese government. Japan Times, 3 Nov 2011.
Rohingya activist in Japan shines light on Rohingya, refugee issues This article tells the story of Zaw Min Htut, the first Rohingya asylum seeker in Japan to be granted refugee status, from arriving in Japan and being held in detention, having his application for refugee status being rejected twice and having to fight in court for four years, to being accepted as a refugee and setting up a waste recycling business in Saitama. The article also considers some of the problems with Japan's refugee acceptance system. Kyodo News, 25 Dec 2017.
Rohingya family in Japan praying for better days in face of COVID-19 The article tells the story of Mohammed Salim, a Rohingya man, who arrived seeking asylum in Japan in 2003, later got long-term resident status, and is now married and living in Ichikawa City, Chiba with his children and parents, and runs runs a halal grocery and kebab restaurant. It also explains how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the family. Asahi Shimbun, 21 May 2020.
Rohingya man in Gunma asks Japanese people to help refugees in Bangladesh This report mostly focuses on the visit of Aung Tin, who is in charge of refugee affairs at the "Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan," to a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, where he met up with fellow people of the minority Myanmar Muslin group, Rohingya.It also briefly describes the situation of Rohingya refugees in Japan living in Tatebayashi, Gunma. Mainichi Shumbun, 8 Mar 2017.
Website of the Japan Association for Refugees.
Refugees (most recent) by country Data on the total numbers of refugees living in 110 different countries (Japan is number 80 on the list). The data is for 1990-1999. Nationmaster.
Asylum seekers acceptance rates: 1990-99 (most recent) by country % of asylum seekers accepted between the years 1990 and 1999, 18 countries (Japan is 18th on the list). Nationmaster.
Japan Immigration Detention Date Profile (2020) Information on the use of detention in Japan, for undocumented migrants as well as asylum seekers, from the International Detention Project.
No country for refugees? Japan and South Korea's tough asylum policies This article looks at refugee acceptance policies in Japan and Korea from an Australian perspective and argues that these wealthy East Asian countries have put economic development ahead of protecting human rights in their policies on refugees and immigration. DW, 4 Nov, 2014
Q&A: Japanese clothing retail giant helps refugees in unique ways An article about Uniqlo's internship program for refugees who are students in Japan, as well as a project to provide clothes to refugees in co-operation with UNHCR. 18 Mar 2012.
Refugee recognition is overly slow, opaque, panel tells Justice Ministry "Japan should clarify the criteria it uses to recognize refugees and set up safeguards to protect vulnerable applicants who fall short of the definition, an advisory panel told the Justice Ministry on Friday. Japan Times, 26 Dec, 2014. (*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase ProQuest)
Justice Ministry unveils eased refugee-recognition criteria but critics quick to cry foul "Japan will ease its rigid criteria for recognizing people as refugees while boosting efforts to detect bogus or unqualified applicants, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday in what it is touting as a systemic overhaul." This article looks at the new plans for refugee acceptance made by the Ministry of Justice, and criticisms of them, based on the report of the advisory panel explained in the story above. Japan Times, 15 Sep 2015.(*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase ProQuest)
Japan is obliged to accept refugees, so why so few? As a signatory to international conventions on the acceptance of refugees, Japan is obliged to give refugees due recognition and protect their basic human rights. However, human rights organizations have long criticized the government for the low number of people Japan recognizes as refugees, and the lack of transparency and objectivity in its recognition process. Although quite old, this Q&A about refugees and refugee policy in Japan is still a good overview of the issue. Japan Times, March 13, 2007.(*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase ProQuest)
Editorial: Refugees in Japan Last summer the government showed some willingness to increase the number of applicants it would consider, but did not say exactly what it would do. Substantial improvements are greatly needed.Japan Times, Oct. 12, 2008. (*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase ProQuest)
Scant welcome for refugees in Japan This story looks at the experiences of asylum seekers [people wanting to be accepted as refugees by another country] in Japan, especially the finiacial difficulties they face, as well as at why Japan accepts so few refugees and whether this may change with the election of a new government in 2009. BBC News, 18 November, 2009.
Refugee resettlement program planned for those fleeing conflict Taking steps to accept more foreign refugees, Japan will introduce the so-called third-country refugee resettlement program as early as fiscal 2010, becoming the first Asian country to do so, according to government sources. Under the program, Japan will accept refugees who flee their conflict-stricken home countries to nearby states but find it hard to resettle. Japan Times, Aug. 23, 2008.
Court upholds family's deportation order: Kurd dad must return to Turkey; mom and Japan-born girl go to Philippine The Tokyo District Court dismissed a lawsuit Friday by a Turkish Kurd, his Filipino wife and their 6-year-old daughter seeking to reverse a deportation order for overstaying their visas. Taskin, his wife, Beltran, and their daughter, Zilan, were asking for special residency permits as the couple have lived here for more than a decade and the girl was born and raised here....Taskin is also waiting for a decision on his fourth appeal for refugee status, saying he faces arrest or torture if sent back to Turkey. Japan Times, March 24, 2007. (*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase Nexis Uni)
Asylum seekers find little refuge in Japan Despite being the third largest donor in the world to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Japan admits only a tiny number of asylum seekers compared to other industrialized nations, and often appears reluctant to grant refugee status to those who do come. Japan Today, 26 Jul, 2009.
Japan Announces That 0 Refugeees Will Be Resettled This Year by Brian Barbour, Director, External Relations Unit, Japan Association for Refugees (JAR); and Chair, Legal Aid and Advocacy Working Group (LAAWG), Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN). This article includes recommendations for reforming the Resettlement Program by i) changing the selection criteria for refugees accepted, and ii) creating a more inclusive, co-ordinated support network in Japan for refugees on the program. Fahamu Refugee Legal and Newsletter, 1 Dec, 2012.
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.
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 below. (*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase Nexis Uni)
Japan failing its obligation to aid asylum seekers Japan accepted just six asylum seekers last year, the lowest number in 15 years, according to the Justice Ministry.....The rate is one more piece of evidence that Japan’s insularity is increasing. Japan Times, 29 Mar, 2014. (*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase Nexis Uni)
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. (*You can access this article by connecting university wi-fi or VPN and reearch from the datebase ProQuest)
Final 23 Myanmar refugees arrive in Japan on resettlement program Twenty-three refugees from Myanmar who had fled to Thailand arrived Friday evening in Tokyo, the last group to do so under a Japanese pilot resettlement program begun in fiscal 2010. The programme has not gone well with fewer refugees choosing to come to japan on it than hoped. Japan Times, 26 Sep, 2014.
Detention monitoring newly established in Japan by Naoko Hashimoto Forced Migration Review