Japan’s refugee law changes empower government amid distrust in immigration system
- The law is one of several judicial decisions that reveal the haphazard way Japan awards refugee certification, adding to distrust about how the system is managed
- Japan’s ability to ensure the safety of the rising number of refugees is under serious doubt after it granted itself greater powers over them
After fierce debate and numerous setbacks, Japan enacted on Friday controversial amendments to the immigration and refugee law enabling the government to deport repeat refugee applicants back to their countries of origin.
But while the government has sought to assure its critics that it will “respond appropriately” to refugee cases that it sees, its ability to ensure the safety of the rising number of vulnerable people worldwide is under serious doubt at a time when it has given itself greater powers over them.
Naoko Hashimoto, an associate professor at Hitotsubashi University, told before the House of Representatives Judicial Affairs Committee in April that “if the bill passes as it is, it will be the equivalent of indirectly pressing a button to execute innocent people”.
The harsher measures come as the global refugee situation has worsened worldwide, with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees saying in 2022 that the number of forcibly displaced people globally had exceeded 100 million for the first time.
Justice Minister Ken Saito says the changes, which follow a failed attempt to revise the law in 2021, were a “matter of urgency” because current legislation protects individuals who have committed serious crimes such as murder from deportation if they are applying for refugee status.
