Japan to launch crackdown on asylum seekers

TOKYO: Japan will curb asylum seekers’ rights to work and detain any not deemed refugees or who have made multiple applications, the Yomiuri daily reported yesterday, in a move to further tighten one of the developed world’s toughest refugee systems.

From as early as midNovember, Japan will only allow those it regards as bona fide refugees the right to work. The Justice Ministry estimates that the new rule will effectively deny the right to work for more than 10,000 asylum seekers a year who don’t qualify for refugee status, the Yomiuri said, without citing sources.

Others, including those who fail to qualify as refugees in initial checks and multiple asylum applicants, will be held in detention centres after their permission to stay in Japan expires, the report said.

At present, asylum seekers with valid visas receive renewable permits allowing them to work in Japan while their refugee applications are reviewed – a system the government says encourages people to seek asylum in order to work. — Reuters