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Japan accepted just 20 asylum seekers last year despite almost 20,000 applications

The number of applicants has been rising steadily

Alina Polianskaya
Friday 16 February 2018 19:12 GMT
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Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed no desire to relax border controls
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed no desire to relax border controls

Japan has been accused of turning its back on asylum seekers, after it emerged that it accepted just 20 applications from a record 19,628 last year.

This is even less than 2016, despite the number of applicants continuing to rise. Then, 28 were successful from the 11,000 that applied for asylum.

For some time, asylum seekers with valid visas were able to work in Japan while their applications for refugee status were reviewed.

But the country’s justice ministry, which oversees refugee recognition, has said people were taking advantage of the system.

Claiming people were applying for asylum just so they could work in the country, it changed the rules in January.

The alterations meant that only those considered to be bona-fide refugees were allowed to work.

Eri Ishikawa, of the Japan Association for Refugees, said 20 people was "way too few".

She added: "Judging from our experience in refugee support, I believe more people should be accepted."

The ministry said that the changes have led to a drop in applications for asylum, with the number of daily applicants falling by around 50 per cent from December to January.

Those given asylum in 2017 included people from Syria, Egypt and Afghanistan. Around a quarter of the applicants were from The Philippines, with many more from Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Nepal.

The Ministry of Justice said in a statement that only a small number of applicants were from Syria and added: “The majority of applicants were from countries which did not face a situation causing a massive number of refugees or displaced persons.”

It added that they were making changes to the refugee recognition because “there has been a persistent surge in the abuse or misuse of applications, resulting in a situation where the prompt protection of genuine refugees has been hindered.”

The changes were being made in order to “promptly offer protection to those who genuinely require asylum," it said, adding that “approximately half” of applications did not come under the definition of a refugee as set out by the Refugee conventions.

In Japan, immigration is a controversial issue with many reluctant to accept immigrants as many pride themselves on cultural homogenity. Less than two per cent of the population are born outside of Japan – compared to around 20 per cent in the UK.

Japan has an ageing population, with around one in five people in Japan aged over 65, a low birth rate and as such, a shrinking workforce.

But despite these factors, the country’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has shown no desire to relax the country’s border policies.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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