Category Archives: Immigration

Refugees in Japan

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by Yuu Yokoyama

I think Japan should receive more refugees and give more support for them. Japan started to receive Indochina refugees in 1978 and joined United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (UNHCR) in 1981. It is the international organization for refugee. Then, in 2010, Japan decided to admit refugee to live in Japan as the third county resettlement for the first time in Asia. Japan contributes many refugee support programs. On the other hand, there are some problems in the system for refugees.

First, the support for refugees is very weak. For example, while they wait the recognition of the refugee application, refugees can get money to live in Japan from government. This is because they have no means to earn money, I mean, they are not permitted to work any place in Japan. However, in fact, this support money is very little; only 1,500 yen as life cost per day and about 40,000 yen as house rent per month, this means only 85,000 yen per month. There are many refugees who have disorder in their body because they barely escaped from their country in their life. Such refugees want to go to hospital, but refugees do not have enough money to take even medical examination. In addition, they cannot entry health service, so they have to pay more much money to take medical care. In 2010, the budget for refugee is not enough, so government cut support money of 100 people. This makes more refugees suffer.

Second, the number that Japan gives approval of refugee is very few. At first, in 1982, Japan gave approval of 63 refugee compared to 530 people applied to permission to live in Japan as refugee. This means one person per 9 people could be approved as refugee. However, in 2010, although about 1,800 people requested refugee application, only 21 people could get it. This means one person per 90 people, the number is very small. This is because the regulation of giving approval is very strict.

Third, there are some people who have the prejudice for refugees. People sometimes watch the news that illegal foreign people commit a crime such as violence, theft… so people think that immigration has the possibility which they commit a crime. However, news focuses too much on only foreign people although Japanese also commit crimes every day. For example, according to the research in 2007, the ratio of the crime by Philippine is only 0.3 compared to that by Japanese is 1. Thus, refugee is not dangerous, we make refugees dangerous.

I think many people don’t know there are a lot of refugees in Japan because they think refugee is the problem which happens in far countries from Japan. However, it is not. Refugee is suffering now in Japan, too. We have to corporate with each other and create society which refugees can live safely and comfortably.

What Japan Can Do for Refugees

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by Satomi Toba

In this short report, I’ll look over the present refugee situation in the world and then, refer to what can we, Japanese people do for this issue. It is said that in the world, in 2010, there are about 15 million people who have been exiled from their native countries because of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion (the 1951 Convention). What is worse, it is estimated that the number of refugee records the highest number after 2000. What they have faced under the daily life is usually stricter than people think of: most of the refugees are women and young children whose husband/father was usually passed away because of conflicts. Those refugees have to live under harsh condition, including violence and social discrimination.

‘Arab Spring’ is regarded as an epoch-making incident for citizens and countries where dictatorship has lasted for a long time. It gathers the world’s attention and the big aftereffects are still on. At the same time, we must focus on some people who have become new refugees. The exact number isn’t available, however, Reuter reported that in 2011 the number of people who applied for refugee status increased by 20 %, compared to the last year’s one, due to that democratic movement. It reaches to 441 thousand in 44 developed countries.

Through the last 2 or 3 classes, I’ve learned that the Japanese system or foundation for refugees is smaller-scale, compared to that of other developed countries. Especially, I doubt of an odd system, which after they apply for refugee status, they are not allowed to work and earn money until the judge will be cleared. Usually, it takes about from 6 months to 1 year. As it is known widely, Japanese government doesn’t receive so many refugees like other countries. Thus, it can be said that the refugees inevitably face the economic problem while the application term, nevertheless the possibility to be recognized as formal refugee is too low. I strongly think that it is time for Japan to rethink about them, and not only do that but also take actions. For the first step, I suggest that Japanese government should do away with the strict rule on work activity while the application term. Instead of prohibiting working, it’s better to let them work as they want to. I think it will create new human relationship and social relationship between the refugees and our society. Then, more Japanese people will come to notice this severe problem and speak it out together. I think it is the start point.

Refugees in Japan: Problems and Solutions

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by Tomoka Otani

When we started to learn about refugees in Japan, I did not have any idea what their problems are or I did not care much about them because I have never met refugees in Japan. However, as I studied the situations of refugees in Japan, I came to think that we needed to improve the Japanese system of accepting refugees in order to provide them with better lives in terms of supporting them economically and mentally.

As we talked about the current situation of accepting refugees in Japan, I came to realize that the process which refugees are going through in order to become officially accepted refugees is quite tough. For example, from 1981 to 2005, Japan accepted only 376 people as refugees though it received 3928 applications from all over the world, and it is extremely few numbers compare to other developed countries. Why does Japan accept many fewer refugees than other developed nations? The biggest reason is that there are still discrimination and prejudice against foreigners in Japan especially in terms of immigrants and refugees who are thought to be unstable in Japanese society. They may have been discriminated against at work, daily lives, or school just by their looks or their status that they are immigrants or refugees. However, it is not surprising for me because I have never met people who are immigrants or refugees from other countries. I think, in generally, Japanese people are not familiar with living with foreigner, immigrants and refugees in the same society.

As I mentioned the biggest problem of accepting refugees in Japan, I am going to state solutions for the current situation of accepting refugees. Firstly, I think Japanese people have to be aware of the existence of refugees in Japan, we may have heard about them on the news or in the newspapers but we naturally think it is the problem of other countries because there are not many refugees around us. We need to change our educational system in order to introduce the existence of refugees and what they have been though in their home countries. Secondly, we need to change the governmental economical support for the refugees because their lives are not stable at first and they might not have enough money to support themselves.

As I mentioned above, changing people’s attitude toward refugees and economical support are the two main solutions that I think it is important in order to improve the current situation of accepting refugees and to provide refugees with better lives after their struggles. I know it is extremely difficult for Japanese people to accept foreign refugees because of our cultures and prejudice against them, however, refugees do not have any choice but to live in another society because of various threats from their home countries, and I personally think we need to reconsider the reasons why they had to escape from their home countries and we must treat them with some kind of respect.

The Reality of Refugees

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by Kohei Nomura

Today, many people come and go across borders. Some of them move to other countries to go sightseeing or study. These aims are based on the people’s free decision. On the other hand, there are people who necessarily migrate to other countries to escape suppression of idea or racial discrimination–refugees

According to The United Nation Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 43.7 million people were forced to move in 2010 (n.d., 2012). This number of displacement includes migration as refugees to other countries and in fact, 15.4 millions of people moved to other countries as refugees in the year. This statistic specifies that the number of refugees is much more than that we thought.

Unlike other kinds of immigrants, normally refugees have social protections of the host countries (Brown, 2011). The liberal countries think that the protection of refugees is their moral obligation. They can get support to get a job, and the way to live in the new country. However, the protections only save their legal status as the people living in the country, and of course their economy or identity are the things refugees must protect by their own efforts. According to Brown (2011), refugees do not make claims to economic discrimination. Their social and economic position of host countries’ society tends to be extremely low. Therefore, if refugees secure their existence by being immigrants, it does not always mean fulfillment or satisfaction of their lives. After they migrate, they should seek what they are and what their pleasant of life is.

The situation of undocumented refugees is more severe. UNHCR describes that in 2010, there are about 12 millions of stateless people (n.d.). They cannot be served any kind of social protections unlike normal citizen. Moreover, it is easily assumed that 12 millions of stateless people include many undocumented immigrants. They can never make claims and get protections even if they are terribly discriminated and violated. We should know the reality that in this world, there are many exposed lives as undocumented refugees.

In conclusion, as this blog post suggests, the situation of refugees are severe. Their social and economic status is very low, and undocumented immigrants can never get protections by any countries. We need to examine the reality of refugees more, and try to create the world that all people can fairly seek satisfaction of their lives.

References

Hana. E. Brown., (2011), Refugee, Right, and Race, Retrieved from http://static.lore.com/89ca074b416742f7b4e692ed65f85cf4/Brown2011Refugees%20Rights%20and%20Race%20How%20Legal%20Status%20Shapes%20Liberian%20Immigrants’%20Relationship%20with%20the%20State.pdf

The United Nation Refugee Agency (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.or.jp/ref_unhcr/statistics/index.html

Refugees in Japan

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by Daiki Nishiyama

In Japan, the number of refugees is surprisingly small. In fact, I haven’t met refugees in Japan and haven’t heard the news on refugees in Japan.

Japan has accepted 10,000 refugees since 500 Indo-Chinese refugees came to Japan 1979. But Japan has recognized 50 refugees out of 1100 applicants. Compared with other industrialized countries, the number of refugees in Japan is much smaller. Why doesn’t Japan accept refugees coming to Japan? It is said that there are some reasons about the situation. Firstly, Japanese people are concerned about deterioration in security in Japanese society by increasing the number of foreigners. But this is not the fact. Japanese people have a prejudice against foreigners. The number of foreigners does not have anything to do with the criminal rate in Japan. Secondly, Japan doesn’t have enough support for refugees. Even though refugees are admitted as refugees in Japan, it is difficult for them to get jobs and health support. They cannot get the health insurance. That is, refugees can suffer from many problems.

Although the number of admitting refugees is small, Japan donates a lot of money toward refugees’ policies. Some people insisted in the last class that if Japan admitted more refugees, it needed to use more money to support refugees in Japanese society. I think this statement is inconsistent and Japan needs to use more money to increase the number of refugees in Japanese society.

To change the situation now, we Japanese people have to understand the reality in Japan. Since we are ignorant about the Japanese not-enough policies toward refugees, the situation never change. As we know the bad situation toward refugees, the Japanese government would take some actions.

Refugees in Japan

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by Yui Matsushita

In 2010, Japan started a new program of reception of refugees called “a third state settlement”. It is the system that a third state receives refugees who can’t be protected by the first receiving country. Refugees do training in language and culture before leaving a country, and after arriving in Japan, they do training again for a half year and get support to obtain a job. After that, refugees will reside permanently in a local community. The Japanese government ranks this system as a principal program to increase the number of reception of refugees in Japan.

However, the number of recognition of refugees in Japan is very small compared with other countries. According to the Ministry of Justice, only 21 refugees were recognized in 2011 although 1,867 people applied for it. One of problems of Japan’s reception of refugees is that a reception setup and its contents are not enough. After a half-year training, support for refugees will be reduced drastically. Following this, local communities taking over support for refugees have to be burdened heavily. Also, Japan’s system of recognition of refugees lacks fairness because it is carried out by an Immigration Bureau which also cracks down on illegal immigrants. In addition, refugees have to prepare data establishing the status as a refugee, but it is almost impossible for them. Recognition of refugees takes a long time, and meanwhile, they have to suffer physically and mentally because the foundations of their livelihood and legal status are unstable. They also have to become frightened of deportation.

Furthermore, Japanese society still has a deep-rooted and stereotyped prejudice against foreigners that increase in immigrants will cause deterioration in security; however, there is not such fact in reality. The ratio of crimes committed by foreigners remains on the same level, while the number of foreigners in Japan is increasing. Also, there is research showing that crimes committed by foreigners are apt to be reported five times as many as those committed by Japanese people. It is obvious that there is a responsibility of media as well.

The most important thing is that originally Japan has already joined the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and has duty to international society to accept refugees. The present situation makes a shameful image of Japan as a state which does not carry out an international responsibility. Also, Japanese society should pay attention to merit accepting refugees, for example, they can be great working force in rural areas where depopulation is a serious problem. Under the present conditions, Japan is violating fundamental human rights. It has to reconsider the present policy toward refugees, and Japanese society has to be aware of this issue more.

Through the Debate on Refugees in Japan

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by Sakiko Maruyama

In the last class, we had a debate on whether Japan should accept more refugees. It was helpful for me to think about the matter from both points of views. For side was superior in the last debate, and I think it isn’t a coincidence. Looking back the debate, I think the people in against side are difficult to beat for side. If such an outlook is reasonable, we can say Japan should increase the number of refugee recognition, and so I want to confirm it in this text as possible as I can.

Against sides usually give the examples about the shortage of jobs, the recession, and the public safety in Japan. That is, firstly, they say Japan can’t afford to accept refugees because Japan is in the depression these days and so Japanese employment rate is now bad. Then they say the refugees sometimes cause the deterioration of public safety. But all of these statements don’t have an effect on for sides. Japan has a bad employment rate, but on the other hand, the rural areas are aging seriously and there are few young workers in the agriculture or fishery.  For sides cite this fact and say Japan has many rooms to employ refugees in those industries. Indeed, this solution would help both Japanese society and refugees. They also say it is prejudice to regard refugees as an obstacle of public safety. From this matter, it seems that the basic viewpoints on both sides are originally different. It is important for against sides that refugees may have a bad effect on Japanese society, but for sides emphasize the rights of refugees and the refugees are fundamentally not the objet being measured the value for them.

Therefore, even if against sides give many examples about bad aspects of refugees, anything can’t deny their human rights, and then for side would more reasonable in any case. Japan itself signed the UN Conventions Relating to the Status of Refugees and has responsibility about refugee recognition. But in fact, there are many problems about the system. The rate of the recognition today is 1 out of 300. The problems are lying not in refugees but in Japan. The refugees have already been making efforts to be recognized in Japanese society.  It’s we that need to approach them politically and socially.

The Situation of Refugees in Japan

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by Marina Kouyama

Today, there are over 40 million refugees around the world. Under such conditions, here in Japan, the number of refugee is overwhelmingly low in comparison to other developed countries. In 2011, 21 of the 1,867 people who applied for asylum (only 0.1 percent) were got certified as refugees in Japanese society. With Japan having ratified the UN Convention on Refugees, why then is the acceptance rate this low?

In Japan, the protection of refugees is conducted in accordance with the Immigration-Control and Refugee-Recognition Act. Therefore, people who want to receive rights as refugee in Japan must apply and be admitted according to this law. However, Japanese system or policy has some problems with granting asylum. Following are some noticeable problematic policies;

  1. If a refugee fails to apply for asylum within 60 days after being displaced, he/her is not accepted into Japan (2 of Article 61 of the Immigration Act).
  2. There are flaws in the laws in refugees’ visa status and their conservation establishment.
  3. Japanese government does not grant a legal status of asylum seeker. Asylum seeker is treated the same as a foreigner without a visa.
  4. The refugee status determination depends on political and diplomatic judgment (by an informal committee which is composed of executives of Japanese government) rather than objective judgment by the rules of international convention on the status of refugees.

In addition to above-mentioned policies, the problems include the Japanese public’s awareness of refugee. It is said that Japanese people are relatively uncomprehending about ethnic issues, due to the small number of foreign residents. Therefore, Japanese people tend to think that refugee issue is happening somewhere far from Japan. Even after Japanese people recognize the existence of refugee in Japanese society, more than a few people disagree the acceptance, with concern that refugee makes security deterioration. This concern results from the increase in news report about foreigner’s crime. Actually, however, the foreign crime rate is falling over years, considering foreign residents have increased recently. Japanese people tend to judge foreign people based on only their image without touch with foreigners. This Japanese little awareness of foreigner is also the big reason why Japan is a so closed country for dispatched people.

The international community criticized these Japanese negative attitudes. Japan, as one of the advanced country, is demanded fair contribution to refugee issue which international society has to work together hand in hand. In response to this, Japan has launched pilot resettlement program in which the government plans to accept 90 Myanmar political refugees for three years from 2010. At present, 37 of them are reside in Japan after taking six-months of training for life in Japan. However, they are faced with some difficulty about new life, for example, they struggle with language barrier.

As stated above, there are a lot of problems with refugee issue in Japan. To solve its, the following some possible countermeasures should be taken;

  1. increase public awareness of refugee issue and improve understanding of refugee in conjunction with the government and local towns.
  2. adopt more open policy on refugee in order to promote fundamental reforms.
  3. improve system of treatment for refugee accepted in Japan, or who are in asylum application process.

Refugees in Japan

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by Maho Machida

Japan signed the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1982 and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1983. However, we cannot say that Japan has put it into practice, because it accepts very few refugees. In class discussion, I was surprised when I learned that just only 21 people out of 1800 asylum-seekers were accepted as refugees in 2010. This figure is too small for Japan which is obliged to protect their human rights, I think.

It is certain that Japan cannot afford to support them because of a recent recession. The percentage of graduates finding employment has been declining year by year. In addition to it, admitting more refugees may confuse domestic situation. It is because Japanese existing system does not fit them and few ordinary Japanese know them and media rarely reports them. Therefore, refugees have more difficulty adjusting to life in such society than immigrant countries such as the US. They may suffer from prejudice. I don’t hope such situation both Japanese and refugees live uncomfortably and confront each other in Japan. However, that doesn’t mean to agree with keeping Japan’s closed policy toward refugees.

In the world, there are still many people who are subjected to persecution because of racial, religious, and political conflicts. Not all people can choose a host country and some of asylum-seekers in Japan have no way but to come to Japan. However, the receiving organization in Japan is not clear and on neutral ground. The certification standard for refugees is high. Moreover, it takes a lot of time to admit them. During that period, they cannot receive social security and work in Japan. This is far from humanitarian and protecting human rights, I think.

Therefore, in my opinion, we should be open to them even step by step. As we discuss in class last week, we could revitalize our economy by receiving more refugees. For example, they can work in agriculture and the fishing industry where labor shortage has been serious problem in Japan. Actually, women refugees who came from Asia are engaged in nursing care, supporting more and more the old in Japan. The group of Myanmar refugees went to the disaster-stricken area, Tohoku, to help people as volunteers. I think we should not consider refugees are a burden for us, but expecting their possibility. This way of thinking may be more necessary as globalization progresses.

Refugees in Japan

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by Maika Kubo

Since I learn about refugee in this class, I thought refugee problem is only for African countries which don’t have respectable government. In this class, I learned that there are many people living in western countries (the US, Europe…) as refugees, and even Japan accepts refugees. I was surprised not only the fact that there are refugees in Japan but also the fact that I hadn’t have chance to know about that.

In late 1970s, Japan began to accept Indochina refugees (Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian) because of a pressure of the US. After the Vietnam War, the new governments were started in Indochina countries, and people who can’t accept new governments escaped their countries. Under the system of cold war, the US had to accept a huge number of Indochina refugees. After this reception, Japan joined the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1981. According to the web site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Japan accepted 11,391 Indochina refugees until 2005 (Japan stopped accepting Indochina refugees in 2005), and 508 convention refugees until 2008. In 2010, Japan started to accept Myanmar refugees staying refugee camp in Thailand. 90 refugees will accepted from 2010 to 2013. As the data describes, Japan’s reception of refugees is very small. For example, according to the web site of UNHCR, in 2006, Japan accepted 451 Afghan refugees while the US accepted 800,000.

There are some reasons why Japan accepts few refugees. First, the rate of recognition of refugee is very low. Japan’s rate of recognition of refugee is 0.3 % while the US’s rate is 53% in 2011. In Japan, the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice examines refugees. Refugees who couldn’t be recognized as refugee can make an objection, however, this objection is also examined by the Immigration Bureau. It is said that they should be separated. Because the rate of recognition of refugee is very low, the number of applicant to Japan becomes very few. Also, not only the government, the whole Japanese society treats refugees coolly. From these facts, the number of refugee becomes very few in Japan.

As the globalization towards, the connections between each countries are becoming stronger and stronger. Each counties will be needed to accept refugees more generously, because it is one of the international cooperation. Japan’s negative attitude toward reception of refugee is already criticized in international society.