Japan’s restrictive approach to asylum sees just 28 refugees accepted in 2016

 

Japan accepted just 28 refugees last year, one more than it took in 2015, underscoring its ultra-strict approach to asylum at a time when other nations are increasingly reluctant to take in people fleeing war or persecution.

The tiny number of successful claims held steady despite a 44 per cent jump in claims for refugee status to 10,901. That meant a success rate for asylum claims of 0.26 per cent.

As restrictions on asylum seekers spread around the world, including moves by President Donald Trump to ban people from certain countries from entry to the US, the figures highlight how Japan has long operated a system designed to deter and reject most seeking asylum.

“Japan has a very, very strict refugee policy,” said Eri Ishikawa, chair of the Japan Association for Refugees. “They really prioritise immigration control rather than refugee protection.”

There were 1,829 asylum applications from Indonesia, 1,451 from Nepal, 1,412 from the Philippines, 1,143 from Turkey and 1,072 from Vietnam. Among those accepted, seven came from Afghanistan, four from Ethiopia, three from ­Eritrea and two from Bangladesh.

Tokyo also granted 97 people humanitarian leave to remain and resettled 18 refugees from Myanmar who were living in Malaysia.

Japan accepts such tiny numbers of refugees despite nominally complying with the same international conventions as countries such as the UK, which granted asylum to 9,975 people in 2015; the US, which admitted 84,994 last year; and Germany, which has taken in hundreds of thousands of Syrians over the past few years.

Relatively few potential applicants reach Japan to start with, since they generally need a passport and a visa. They also need to submit extensive documentation in Japanese.

“Japan has a unique interpretation of the rules on asylum,” said Ms Ishikawa. “An applicant must be individually targeted by the authorities of their home country. Even if a Syrian had joined an anti-Assad demonstration and feared to return home, for example, their claim would be rejected.”

Decisions on refugee status can take a number of years so, in practice, applicants can receive a tough quasi-asylum in Japan for a period.

Of those ultimately rejected, some are deported, although Japan does not publish clear figures on deportations.