yoshidamayuko The population of refugees worldwide has grown to 79.5 million, nearly double the number 10 years ago.
Worldwide Refugee Population Now 79.5 Million, Nearly Double the Number 10 Years ago
By the end of 2019, there will be 79.5 million refugees worldwide, a nearly twofold increase from a decade ago (41 million in 2010). More than 1% of all humans, or 1 in 97 people, are affected by forced displacement, and the number of people able to return to their countries of origin is decreasing yearly. (UNHCR, June 2020). In refugee camps, many people are at risk of explosive transmission of the new coronavirus without adequate medical care.
Refugees Denied Entry and Deported
More than 10,000 refugees come to Japan each year with hope. Japan is a country of economic prosperity, a country of peace, the country of Madame Sadako (the late Sadako Ogata, former UN High Commissioner), and a country of hospitality. They land at the airport, hoping that they can escape persecution and regain a more human life if they go to Japan.
More than 10,000 refugees come to Japan each year with hope. Japan is a country of economic prosperity, a country of peace, the country of Madame Sadako (the late Sadako Ogata, former UN High Commissioner), and a country of hospitality. They land at the airport, hoping that they can escape persecution and regain a more human life if they go to Japan.
However, their expectations are quickly betrayed. When asylum seekers apply for asylum at the airport, they are preceded not by the refugee status application process but by the “Application for Temporary Asylum Landing Permit” process, a procedure to determine whether or not they will be allowed to enter Japan for refugee status application procedures. In the 38 years between 1982, when Japan joined the Refugee Convention, and 2018, there were 836 applications for temporary asylum landing permits, but only 66 were granted.
When they appeal for protection as refugees at the airport, they are denied entry and sent back without even being able to apply for refugee status. If they continue to appeal for asylum, deportation proceedings will be taken against them “if they do not leave the country promptly,” and they will be detained in an immigration facility for an extended period of time.
Mr. R, Denied Entry Intro the Country
He left Japan because he feared for his life due to physical persecution by the authorities when he was engaged in political activities in his home country. He chose Japan because he had the opportunity to learn about Japan in high school. He said he had an image of a developed and peaceful country and that getting a visa would be a smooth process. After four plane rides, he finally arrived in Japan, where he sought asylum from an immigration official. On the third day, he was asked to leave the country, and when he refused, he was kept in an airport facility for another two days. Finally, he was transferred to an immigration facility.
After being informed by other detainees that there is a procedure for provisional release in which the detainee is temporarily released from detention, he consulted with visiting volunteers and support groups about the provisional release. However, he learned that provisional release requires a guarantor, housing, and a security deposit (the legal limit is 3 million yen, but the operational limit is between 10,000 and 300,000 yen). However, he did not have the money to pay the deposit, nor did he have any acquaintances to ask for a guarantor or a place to live, and only time continued to pass by.
It took a week just to call the Refugee Services Headquarters (an affiliate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), a public support office for refugee applicants in financial need, to make an appointment for a consultation. He had to wait another week for the application form to be mailed. However, more than a month passed after sending the application back, and there was still no word. Just like during his detention, the days of anxious waiting continued.
Refugees Who Become Homeless
If you are granted permission to enter the country successfully at the airport, you will apply for refugee status at the immigration office. If you are granted the status of residence, you will not be eligible to work until eight months after your application, although there are some exceptions. Until then, you are expected to survive on the money you have in your possession, protection money from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and support from civil society organizations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides protection money several months after the application is submitted. It is reviewed every four months and may suddenly stop being paid. The number of emergency shelters is limited, and some refugees are forced to live on the streets because they no longer have enough money and cannot receive protection money. Some refugees have been homeless for over a year.
Even under such circumstances, they must appear regularly at the immigration office, undergo lengthy interviews, and submit documents to substantiate their refugee status. In many cases, with their fragile livelihoods, they cannot adequately prepare for the documentation and other requirements, resulting in the denial of refugee status.
2011: Realization of the Resolution in the Diet
In November 2011, on the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 30th anniversary of Japan’s accession to the Convention, the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors unanimously adopted a resolution on the protection of refugees and continued efforts to resolve the refugee problem.
While strengthening cooperation with international organizations and civil society groups that support refugees, we will strive to establish a comprehensive domestic asylum system and further enhance our third-country resettlement program. At the same time, we will continue to provide assistance to refugees and displaced persons externally through our country’s foreign policy, and we will play a leading role in Asia and the world toward a permanent solution to the global refugee problem and qualitative improvement in the protection of refugees”.
Unfortunately, many of the resolutions have yet to be realized. The number of refugees worldwide, which was 42.5 million at the time of the parliamentary resolution, became 70.8 million in 2018. The number increases yearly, and the situation surrounding refugees is becoming increasingly serious.
Arrupe Refugee Center Opens
In April 2020, Arrupe Refugee Center opened in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. The Jesuits, a congregation of the Catholic Church, provided the building site and made this possible. The center will engage in the following three activities: The first is to provide shelter, to improve the situation of refugees who come to Japan with hope but are forced to live on the streets, and to provide alternatives to detention at the Immigration Bureau. The second is to provide a venue to connect refugees with Japanese society; the Global Compact on Refugees, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018, requires the participation of a diverse range of stakeholders in supporting refugees. We will strive to enable diverse stakeholders to meet with refugees and, through these encounters, enable refugees to live a secure and independent life in the community. The third is international collaboration and solidarity. The center’s name “Arrupe” comes from Father Pedro Arrupe, former president of the Jesuits, who founded the Jesuit Refugee Center JRS in response to the devastation of the Indochinese refugees. Through its network, JRS will explore the possibility for long-term parolees to start a new life outside Japan.
Due to the new coronavirus, international migration will be restricted, and new refugee applications are expected to decrease dramatically. In the meantime, we would like to promote the “establishment of a comprehensive domestic asylum system” with various stakeholders.
Reprinted from the June 2020 issue of M-Net
Resolution on the Protection of Refugees and Continued Commitment to Solutions to the Refugee Problem
The year 2011 marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 30th anniversary of Japan’s accession to the Convention. In particular, Japan, as a member of the international community, has supported refugees and displaced persons around the world for 30 years since joining the Convention, emphasizing the concept of human security and focusing on humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding for refugees. In 2010, the program began accepting refugees from Thailand to Myanmar, making it the first Asian country to accept refugees through third-country resettlement.
In Japan, efforts have been made to improve the transparency and efficiency of refugee status examinations to enhance and develop the asylum system.
Respecting these past achievements, international law, and basic international principles of refugee protection, Japan will strive to establish a comprehensive domestic asylum system and further enhance its third-country resettlement program while strengthening cooperation with international organizations and civil society groups that support refugees. At the same time, Japan will continue to provide assistance to refugees and displaced persons in accordance with its foreign policy and will play a leading role in Asia and the world in permanently solving the world’s refugee problems and improving the quality of protection for refugees.
(Resolution No. 2 of the 179th House of Representatives, approved on November 17, 2011, and Resolution No. 1 of the 179th Senate, approved on November 21, 2011)