Record number of foreigners apply for refugee status
It is incredibly hard for foreigners to get refugee status in Japan, but that hasn’t stopped over 1,000 individuals from applying this year:
According to the association, about 975 people applied for the status with the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau between January and early September. Over the same period, 25 people applied to the Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureau and 15 people with the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau.
Many of the applicants are from Myanmar and Turkey. Applicants from Sri Lanka, Nepal and Ethiopia, who face political uncertainty in their homelands, are on the rise, the association said.
One of the reasons for the increase is that European nations and the United States have strengthened immigration controls, mainly due to terrorism concerns.
Only 41 applicants were granted refugee status last year. However, the Japanese government announced earlier this year that it intended to take in greater numbers of refugees, so this year’s applicants might have more luck.
