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Provisional Release: "A prison without walls" Pro

Provisional Release: "A prison without walls"

Provisional release (仮放免 • Karihoumen) is a system for detainees in Japanese immigration custody facilities to be released for a period of time under specific, restrictive conditions. Detainees apply for release on the basis of medical treatment and preparation for repatriation.

However, those who receive provisional release have no legal residency.
They are not permitted to work, ineligible for welfare schemes, and confront severe restrictions on their freedom of movement, effectively making it impossible for them to survive without the aid of charitable organisations.

Call for #JusticeForAsylumSeekers

Linked Sources:
(1) Source: Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Link: https://www.isa.go.jp/en/applications/guide/tetuduki_taikyo_syuuyou.html
(2) Source: Dean, M. “Japan: Refugees and Asylum Seekers,” Writenet report commissioned by UNHCR, February 2006, Link: https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/43f4a4b94.pdf
(3) Source: Nippon.com (The Jiji Press, Ltd. — original publication), May 2020, Link: https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2020050100810/
(4) Source: Nippon.com, May 2021, Link: https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/d00705/

Japan’s Immigration Services Agency (ISA) is res

Japan’s Immigration Services Agency (ISA) is responsible for keeping the country’s refugee acceptance rate at less than 1%—the lowest of any G7 nation.
Operating as an independent branch of the Ministry of Justice, the ISA detains asylum seekers indefinitely across Japan.

Join the call for structural change to the Immigration Services Agency. Call for #JusticeForAsylumSeekers

Linked Sources:
(1) “Japan accepts far fewer refugees than any other G7 country,” on Nippon.com, May 14, 2019, URL: https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00449/japan-accepts-far-fewer-refugees-than-g7-peers.html

(2) “Ex-Japan immigration officer queries 'black box' hiding policy on foreigners' rights (Pt 1)” in The Mainichi, May 8, 2021, URL: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210508/p2a/00m/0na/027000c

(3) Immigration Services Agency, Immigration and Residence Management Agency Materials submitted by Commissioner Miyazaki on November 25, 2019, at the 3rd meeting of the Expert Committee on Detention and Repatriation, Link: http://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/policies/nyuukokukanri03_00001.html

(4) Murakami, T., and Takeuchi, A. “Japan government draft revision to immigration law criticized for undervaluing human rights,” in The Mainichi, March 16, 2021, Link: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210316/p2a/00m/0na/008000c

Image Credit: Getty Images / Aaftab Sheikh
Image Notice: image used under Fair Use. No copyright infringement intended.

Part 2 of 2: During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games,

Part 2 of 2: During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games, Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya made news after pleading with Japanese airport police and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to let her stay in Japan just before she was due to return to Belarus.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya and Ko Pyae Lyan Aung's exceptional stories highlight the importance of protecting asylum seekers. Sadly, they are set apart from the more than 99% who remain unrecognised and unprotected.

In 2016, leaders of G7 countries gathered in Ise-Shima, Japan, and declared: "Individuals fleeing persecution should be granted effective protection in the first safe country they enter."

Join the call for just, timely and transparent immigration policies and practices in Japan.

Call for #JusticeForAsylumSeekers

*Krystsina Tsimanouskaya’s name appears with alternative spelling in The New York Times, as: Kristina Timanovskaya.

Linked Sources:
(1) Hornyak, T., “A Belarusian Olympic Athlete Found Protection in Japan. Most Refugees Do Not” in Time, 5 August, 2021, Link: https://time.com/6087639/belarus-athlete-olympics-refugees-japan/

(2) Panja, T., Motoko, R., “Belarusian Sprinter Who Feared for Her Safety Is Offered Asylum in Poland” in The New York Times, 2 August, 2021, Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/02/world/asia/belarus-olympics-kristina-timanovskaya.html

(3) Group of Seven, “G7 Ise-Shima Leaders’ Declaration,” at G7 Ise-Shima Summit, May 26, 2016, Link: https://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000160266.pdf

Image Credit: Charly Triballeau via Getty Images
Image Notice: image used under Fair Use. No copyright infringement intended.

Part 1 of 2: Myanmar-national footballer, Ko Pyae

Part 1 of 2: Myanmar-national footballer, Ko Pyae Lyan Aung, travelled to Japan with his team in May 2021, as part of the FIFA qualifiers. At the first match, Aung raised a three-fingered salute; a gesture of resistance in his home country.

His salute was an unmistakable sign of protest against Myanmar’s military coup, violently cracking down on dissidents. Fearing persecution, Aung pleaded with passport control officials for asylum ahead of his return flight in June, gambling between Japan’s immigration system and Myanmar’s military junta.

Most asylum seekers to Japan are not afforded the publicity to help their voices be heard.

Call for #JusticeForAsylumSeekers

Linked Sources:
(1) Dooley, B., Ueno, H. "In Rare Move, Japan Grants Asylum to Soccer Player From Myanmar" in The New York Times, 20 August, 2021, Link: nytimes.com/2021/08/20/world/asia/japan-soccer-player-myanmar-asylum.html

(2) Japan Refugee Application, Recognition and Appeal Data, from 1982 to 2011, published by Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees, Link: http://www.jlnr.jp/stat/2011/stat_2011_01.pdf [Accessed: 11 April, 2021]

(3) “Japan accepts far fewer refugees than any other G7 country,” on Nippon.com, 14 May, 2019, Link: https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00449/japan-accepts-far-fewer-refugees-than-g7-peers.html

Image Credit: NHK World
Image Notice: image used under Fair Use. No copyright infringement intended.

Part 2 of 2: It had been one year since Relindis M

Part 2 of 2: It had been one year since Relindis Mai Ekei had first told a visitor that she was “worried about a lump” in her breast that immigration officials released her from detention. Mai was later diagnosed with breast cancer.

Without legal residency, Mai could not work or access health insurance. As Mai underwent radiation therapy, her supporters stepped in to cover the expenses.

Help bring attention to Mai’s story by sharing this post & tagging organisations like
@humanrightswatch.

Linked Sources:
(1) Uzuka, K., "Was Cameroonian woman's death hours before she received Japan residency avoidable? (Pt. 1)" in The Mainichi, 24 April, 2021, Link: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210423/p2a/00m/0na/036000c

(2) Uzuka, K., "Was Cameroonian woman's death hours before she received Japan residency avoidable? (Pt. 2)" in The Mainichi, 25 April, 2021, Link: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210423/p2a/00m/0na/024000c

(3) Uzuka, K., "Was Cameroonian woman's death hours before she received Japan residency avoidable? (Pt. 3)" in The Mainichi, 26 April, 2021, Link: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210424/p2a/00m/0na/013000c

Image Credit: Mai's supporters via The Mainichi
Image Notice: image edited and used under Fair Use. No copyright infringement intended.

Part 1 of 2: Relindis Mai Ekei was 26 when she fle

Part 1 of 2: Relindis Mai Ekei was 26 when she fled Cameroon for Japan in 2004 to “escape her violent fiancé and female genital mutilation.”

After repeatedly applying for asylum, two long detention terms and a period of homelessness, Mai passed away from breast cancer on January 23, 2021.

Help bring attention to Mai’s story by sharing this post & tagging organisations like
@humanrightswatch.

Linked Sources:
(1) Uzuka, K., "Was Cameroonian woman's death hours before she received Japan residency avoidable? (Pt. 1)" in The Mainichi, 24 April, 2021, Link: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210423/p2a/00m/0na/036000c

(2) Japan Refugee Application, Recognition and Appeal Data, from 1982 to 2011, published by Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees, 2011, Link: http://www.jlnr.jp/stat/2011/stat_2011_01.pdf

(3) Immigration Services Agency, Immigration and Residence Management Agency　
Materials submitted by Commissioner Miyazaki on November 25, 2019, at the 3rd meeting of the Expert Committee on Detention and Repatriation, Link: http://www.moj.go.jp/isa/policies/policies/nyuukokukanri03_00001.html

(4) Uzuka, K., "Was Cameroonian woman's death hours before she received Japan residency avoidable? (Pt. 2)" in The Mainichi, 25 April, 2021, Link: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210423/p2a/00m/0na/024000c

(5) Uzuka, K., "Was Cameroonian woman's death hours before she received Japan residency avoidable? (Pt. 3)" in The Mainichi, 26 April, 2021, Link: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210424/p2a/00m/0na/013000c

Image Credit: Mainichi/Mai's supporter
Image Notice: image used under Fair Use. No copyright infringement intended.

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牛久市にある東日本入国管理センターに収容された難民申請者が、隠しカメラに向けてその実態を語る。

Seeking asylum in Japan, detainees at the infamous Ushiku immigration centre speak out in secretly recorded interviews.

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