Refugee recognition system in Japan

The outline of refugee recognition system

” Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees” (hereinafter referred to as the “the Refugee treaty”) and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (hereinafter referred to as the “Protocol”)was established in Japan in 1982.

A refugee recognition system was regulated to implement enforcement law of the Protocol and the Refugee Treaty domestically in Japan. Under this system, a foreigner regarded as a refugee can be granted status of refugee by the minister of Justice in Japan and have the right to receive protection regulated in the Refugee Treaty.

A refugee defined in the Refugee Treaty is a constituent belonging to a race, a religion, a nationality and a specific social group, who is outside a home country with sufficient reason of fear to be in danger of persecution and is in a very severe situation not to be able to receive protection from a home country or don’t desire protection from a home country. A refugee recognition procedure is a procedure for examining whether a foreigner will correspond to a position as a refugee.
→source: Immigration Bureau of Japan

What you are guaranteed

The Refugee Treaty lays down a treatment which needs to be granted to a refugee defined on the Treaty by item, which is,

The same treatment guaranteed to Japanese nations (national treatment)

literary property, industrial property rights, right of access to courts, primary education, social welfare, social insurance

The most advantageous treatment you could get among the treatments granted to alien nations (most‐favored nation treatment)

The right to join political parties and associations, the right to labour

An ordinary treatment granted to alien nations.

the possession of real estate and movable property, the right of self-employment, the right to work as a liberal profession

The Refugee Treaty lays down a treatment which needs to be granted to a refugee defined on the Treaty by item, which is,

1. The same treatment guaranteed to Japanese nations (national treatment)

Partial easing of permanent permission

Aliens staying in Japan need to satisfy the following conditions to be granted permanent permission


• Being a person of good conduct
• Having sufficient assets or skills to make an independent living

However, even if those who have refugee recognition don’t satisfy the second condition,
the permission will be granted by discretion of the minister of Justice.

Issuance of a refugee travel document

If an alien who has received refugee recognition goes abroad, he/she can be issued with a refugee travel document and an alien who possesses it will be allowed to enter or depart from Japan anytime he/she wants within validated period.

Other rights regulated in the Refugee Treaty

An alien who has received refugee recognition is principally treated as a general alien in the ratification countries and is domestically treated as Japanese citizens to be granted recipient qualification of such as national insurance, child rearing allowances and national pension.

Current conditnion of refugee application

Japanese Government grants permission to asylum seekers to stay in Japan until examination results come out as a temporary humane measure. If six months passes from the day you apply for the Japanese refugee recognition system, you are granted qualification to work in Japan fo a while.

The number of asylum seekers who applied for refugee recognition system in 2014 was about 5000 in total and the number of accepted people was 11. The applicants number of 5000 include the number of people who requested reapplication.

This accepted number of people was only examined based on the Refugee Treaty so there are exceptional case that asylum seekers were granted humane treatment to stay in Japan temporarily by such as provisional permission system or special permission by humane treatment.

Special permission by human treatment in 2015

In 2015, the Ministry of Justice of Japan said that the number of people dismissed refugee procedures but granted permission with a humane measure was 79. The applicants nationality was over 20 countries. Its breakdown was Myanma 12, Turkey 9, Pakistan 7, Syria 6, Bangladesh 6, Sri Lanka5, Uganda 5, Nigeria 5, Nepal4, Ukraine4.

Th number of people granted provisional permission in 2015

The number of people granted provisional permission in 2015 in total was 83 and 28 people reduced compared with the previous year. The number of people examined pro or con was 919. The main reason that the people dismissed permission was applying permission after 6 months stay in Japan and the Written Deportation Order has already been issued.

Nowadays, people entering Japan who try to repeat reapplication of refugee recognition for the purpose of getting temporary permission with special work permit by taking advantage of a humane measure while processing refugee recognition increased so much.

The case people, what we call “camouflaged refugees” who repeat application for the purpose of working and who don’t satisfy or correspond to the conditions to be a refugee though happened one after another.

Therefore, the Japanese government shifted to strict assessment of applications like it would reject permission with the same reason of the previous application from the second time on or it wouldn’t accept the reason which is obviously far from its condition.

What is a provisional permission in Japan?

If there is an application of the refugee recognition from you who has not acquired illegally residence status of Japan　, in order to protect your legal status in Japan, satisfying a certain condition such a case as you starts going through its procedure within 6 months from the day of entering Japan or enters Japan directly from the territory in danger of suffering persecution defined on the Refugee Treaty, you will be granted provisional permission to stay in Japan and deportation procedures will be suspended while pending the examination results.

In addition, the judgement of provisional permission issuance will be automatically made by a refugee recognition application submitted by an applicant so you don’t need to apply for a provisional permission individually.

The conditions of provisional stay in Japan

Staying in Japan by provisional permission	If you are granted provisional permission, deportation procedure will be suspended and you can stay legally until the permission finishes.
Provisional permission certificate	A person whom the minister of Justice grants permission will be issued a provisional permission certificate. While you stay in Japan under the permission, you need to carry this certificate every time wherever you go.
Extension of the period of provisional stay	Provisional permission term is principally 6 months. An renewal application will be accepted 10 days before the expiry of a permission. Application forms is prepared in front of a reception of an agency of local immigration bureau located in each region.
The condition of provisional stay	A person granted provisional permission will be restricted with an area of activity and a place to live in and to work. This permission imposes certain obligations like if there is an appearance request from a refugee inquisitor, you need to go to an appointed place and cooperate for a procedure of refugee recognition application.
Cancellation of provisional permission	If a person granted provisional permission goes against a regulated condition or submit falsified documents for the purpose of being granted refugee recognition illegally or provides false statement on an application, provisional permission must be cancelled.

→source: Immigration Bureau of Japan

A humane measure for applicants while pending the results called “special activity” which is one of “work permit” to support applicants living

The number of people who have been recognized as a refugee in Japan is limited but considerable number of people who have been waiting for the pending permission from the Department of Justice of Japan. One thing I don’t want you to get wrong is that a word of “refugee” in Japan is to be called to person who is granted permission as “refugee” officially from the Department of Justice of Japan. “Refugee” is not a word to indicate asylum seekers.
As I said, If you apply for a refugee recognition system, you can stay in Japan for 6 months without work permit.

If your application status is still pending although it has already taken nearly 6 months since you applied for a refugee recognition system, requesting extension of term of stay to the Immigration Bureau of Japan, you will be granted a permission called “special activity” that allows you to work in Japan and is also adopted as “Working Holiday Visa” in Japan.

A “special activity” permission is granted to not only refugee applicants but also working holiday makers and so on. A third party will not realize whether or not you are a refugee applicant waiting for pending results from the authority only by taking a look at your resident status card issued to all applicants. All your present status is written on your passport.

Almost all of the applicants who has been waiting for the pending results for more than 6 months will work for their living. An expiry of the extension term permission is 6 months. So if you really want to win a refugee recognition in Japan, you need to repeat requesting another extension permission semi-annually until pro or con of examination of your application reaches to you.

After 2 years later since you applied, you may unfortunately receive an result of “disqualification”. If you still want to stay in Japan although you were judged as disqualification, you have the right to take exception to the Japanese authority.Of course, your exception will be dismissed. However, a series of procedure, refugee recognition application, disqualification, taking exception, dismissal takes 3 years. There are quite a few applicants who is granted “special activity” in Japan in the current situation.