Tokyo to tighten refugee screening

November 19, 2017

Tokyo- Japan's Justice Ministry plans to toughen its refugee status screening as early as this year in response to a surge in the number of fake refugees who are entering the country to find jobs, informed sources said Saturday.

The ministry is considering introducing a preliminary check aimed at screening out applicants who certainly lack legitimate reasons for seeking refugee status, the sources said.

The ministry is set to stop allowing refugee status seekers to work in Japan six months after submitting their applications.

In 2016, the number of people who applied for refugee status in Japan hit a record 10,901, topping 10,000 for the first time ever.

In the year, however, only 28 people were officially recognized as refugees meeting conditions clarified in the U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

The ministry believes that most of applicants are looking for jobs in Japan, the sources said.

Ordinary screening processes take about nine months in Japan.

Under the new system, the ministry will conduct preliminary screening within two months after applications are submitted.

The preliminary screening will categorize applicants into four groups--those who are highly likely to have met refugee status conditions, those require detailed examination, those who clearly lack legitimate reasons and those whose applications were rejected before.

Those lacking legitimate purposes and submitting reapplications without reasonable reasons would not be allowed to work in Japan and be forced to leave the country after their authorized periods of stay expire.

By contrast, the ministry plans to promptly allow those who are highly likely to be given refugee status to reside and work in the country.

The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been relaxing visa requirements to promote tourism in Japan, a policy believed to contribute to the surge in the number of fake refugees. Jiji Press