Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter

The Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter is a monthly electronic publication that provides news, reflection, and learning on the provision of refugee legal aid. It is aimed primarily to be a resource for legal aid providers in the Global South where law journals and other resources are hard to access. It complements the information portal, http://www.frlan.org. The newsletter follows recent developments in the interpretation of refugee law; case law precedents from different constituencies; reports and helpful resources for refugee legal aid providers; and stories of struggle and success in refugee legal aid work.

Asylum approval rate in Japan still shockingly low

Contributed by Katsunori Koike, formerly a Legal Officer at the Japan Association for Refugees, and currently a UN volunteer with UNHCR in Kenya.

The 2011 statistics concerning asylum application were released on 24 February 2012 by the Immigration Bureau* of the Ministry of Justice of Japan. According to the report ‘The number of recognised refugees, etc. in 2011’ (‘Heisei 23 nen ni okeru Nanmin Ninteishasuu tou ni tsuite)’, 2999 decisions were made (2119 on 1st instance and 880 on appeal), among which 21 applicants were granted recognition (seven on 1st instance and 14 on appeal). An additional 248 people were granted leave to stay on humanitarian grounds. Japan, signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention since 1981, has been known for its restrictive asylum system, and last year proved to be no deviation from the trend, with a shocking 0.7 percent recognition rate.

The number of applications and appeal applications was the highest in Japan’s asylum history: 1867 applications and 1719 appeal applications were filed in 2011, respectively 665 and 860 more than the previous year. The main cause of the increase was the rising number of re-applications, which accounted for 540 out of 1867. It is inferred that the efforts of the Immigration Bureau to speed up the refugee status determination process, aiming to curtail the waiting time, simply resulted in an increase in the number of rejected asylum seekers, who then chose to re-apply. In principle, re-application can be submitted as long as a failed asylum seeker can add a new asylum claim or new evidence on their initial application.

Regarding recognition, Japan’s asylum system has overwhelmingly favoured Myanmar nationals. Out of a total of 598 recognised refugees since 1981, 307 are from Myanmar. In 2011, 18 out of 21 recognised refugees and 196 out of 248 of those granted humanitarian status were Myanmar nationals, while applications were submitted by asylum seekers from 57 different countries, the majority being from Myanmar (491), followed by Nepal (251), Turkey (234), Sri Lanka (224) and Pakistan (169). For those not from Myanmar, it is literally impossible to receive a residential permit through the asylum procedure, while it is mercilessly difficult enough for Myanmar nationals as well.

The year 2011 was the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Convention and 30th anniversary of Japan’s accession to it. The government of Japan repeatedly stressed its past contribution to assisting refugees as well as its continuing commitment to the global refugee issue at various occasions including the 2011 Ministerial Meeting in Geneva (December) and through two parliamentary resolutions (November 2011). Japan also started a resettlement programme as a three-year pilot project in 2010, targeting 30 Karen refugees in the refugee camp at the Thai-Myanmar border each year. This statistical report reveals, however, that authorities have not changed a bit when it comes to assisting refugees who have arrived on Japanese soil, a fact that simply reiterates how Japan is still a country ultimately closed to refugees.

*This link redirects to the report in Japanese.

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