Hello Blog. File this under the “Resistance is Futile” category, article number 213 or so. The UN has been saying since 2000 (and the PM Obuchi Cabinet agreed) that Japan must allow 600,000 immigrants per year or else. Currently Japan is only taking in about 50,000 registered foreigners net per annum. And those they are taking in, as I have shown in recent previous articles on this blog (https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=105, https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=99), are given horrendous working conditions and slave wages. <\/p>\n
UNHCR grumbles about Japan’s lack of official acceptance of immigrants in Japan Times article below. Then Kyodo News same day (follows Japan Times article) gives the case of a Myanmar man denied the ability to make a livelihood. Facing deportation after being caught working full time as a dependent on his wife’s visa, he filed a lawsuit seeking to stay. He argues it is unreasonable to prohibit immigrant families from having a dual income. Power to him.<\/p>\n
Hellooooo? People waking up yet? Debito in Sapporo<\/p>\n
======================================<\/p>\n
Japan can’t stop the tide of people: UNHCR chief
\nBy KAREN FOSTER Staff writer
\nCourtesy of Matt and Steve at The Community
\nThe Japan Times Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006
\nhttp:\/\/search.japantimes.co.jp\/mail\/nn20061207f1.html<\/p>\n
As more people migrate worldwide, Japan will not be able to stop
\nimmigration, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for
\nRefugees, saying he was concerned with Japan’s restrictive refugee
\nacceptance program and treatment of asylum-seekers.<\/p>\n
“One key aspect of the 21st century will be people moving, around the
\nworld. And I don’t think any society will be able not to participate
\nin this situation,” Antonio Guterres told a news conference Monday.<\/p>\n
Guterres, on a three-day visit that ended Wednesday, said the U.N.
\nagency was troubled with all parts of the process to become a refugee
\nin Japan.<\/p>\n
“I’d say we have three main concerns — first, improvement of the
\nreception of asylum-seekers and of the procedural mechanisms to make
\nsure that there is an adequate set of decisions in an adequate time
\nframework and the forms of assistance that are desirable,” he said.
\n“And the possibility to open one, even if limited, program of
\nresettlement.”<\/p>\n
“We recognize that every country has the right to define its own
\nmigration policy,” Guterres elaborated in an interview Tuesday with
\nThe Japan Times. “Our concern and the concern that is established by
\ninternational law is that for instance in these mixed flows of
\npopulations that we are now witnessing all around the world,
\nindependent of migration policies, countries are supposed to grant
\nprotection to the people that need protection. That means physical
\naccess to protection procedures, namely refugee status determination
\nand the fair treatment of their requirements.”<\/p>\n
The ex-Portuguese prime minister came to talk to the Foreign Ministry
\nabout Japan’s refugee assistance overseas, nongovernmental
\norganizations and to boost ties with the private sector, and to
\ndiscuss with the Justice Ministry the treatment of asylum-seekers.<\/p>\n
NGOs here complain that despite changes in the immigration law last
\nyear, the government continues to detain asylum-seekers and does not
\nprovide them with adequate services, even after they are declared
\nrefugees.<\/p>\n
The UNHCR’s Country Operations Plan 2007 notes that while people are
\napplying for refugees status here, they do not have the right to work
\nand get little community support, including free legal service, which
\nresidents can get under the new legal aid system.<\/p>\n
While immigration law changes introduced a new appeals review panel
\nwith nonimmigration counselors — appointed by the government — the
\nUNHCR report says it is still not independent.<\/p>\n
Still, Guterres was upbeat about recent developments: “Japan has an
\nembryonic asylum system, but that is moving with positive steps.”<\/p>\n
The number of people who have been given asylum here rose
\ndramatically in 2005.<\/p>\n
The government finished processing 384 asylum applications in 2005.
\nOf those 46 were recognized as refugees — 15 of them on appeal —
\nand 97 were issued special resident permits for humanitarian reasons.<\/p>\n
This compares with only 15 people recognized as refugees and nine
\ngranted special permits in 2004 out of 426 applications processed.<\/p>\n
Janet Lim, head of the UNHCR’s Bureau for Asia and the Pacific who
\nalso was visiting, said the UNHCR had lots of experience helping
\nnations deal with refugees, and was ready to share its expertise with
\nTokyo.<\/p>\n
Robert Robinson, UNHCR chief representative for Japan, told the
\nMonday briefing he hoped talks at the Justice Ministry speed up
\nintroduction of a border-guard training program. “That’s a critical
\nmove for us,” he said.<\/p>\n
In addition to Japan’s moral obligation to help people in danger, Lim
\nsaid refugees can help countries that need labor, alluding to Japan’s
\nshrinking labor force.<\/p>\n
“They are here anyway and refugees are not just here as a burden,”
\nshe said. “If we were given the possibility to train them and give
\nthem skills, they could be made to fit the labor need of the country.”
\nENDS<\/p>\n
============================
\nSuit targets dual-income curbs on immigrants
\nKyodo News, Courtesy of Steve at The Community
\nThursday, Dec. 7, 2006<\/p>\n
A man from Myanmar facing deportation after being caught working full time
\nwhile here as a dependent on his wife’s visa filed a lawsuit Wednesday
\nseeking to stay, arguing it is unreasonable to prohibit immigrant families
\nfrom having a dual income.<\/p>\n
Nangzing Nawlar, 47, currently detained by the Tokyo Regional Immigration
\nBureau, came to Japan in October 2001 as a dependent of his Myanmarese wife,
\nwho works as an interpreter, according to his lawyer.<\/p>\n
Nawlar initially took care of their son but started working longer than the
\nlegally permitted 28 hours a week at a “yakinuku” (grilled meat) restaurant
\nafter their daughter was born in August 2003.<\/p>\n
He said his wife’s income alone was no longer sufficient to sustain the
\ngrowing family, while the illness of his relative back home also added to
\nthe family’s financial woes.<\/p>\n
Immigration authorities discovered in August that he was exceeding the work
\nlimit and issued the deportation order in October.<\/p>\n
The focus is on the visa issued to family members of foreign residents who
\ncome to Japan as dependents.<\/p>\n
It limits dependents to working only 28 hours a week, which the Myanmarese
\nman said is discriminatory because foreign-born spouses of Japanese do not
\nface this limit.<\/p>\n
“Although working couples have become common, the (immigration) system
\nbasically banning spouses from working disregards their personal rights and
\nviolates the Constitution,” Nawlar argued in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
“Our marriage will go under without a double income,” he said. “It is
\ndiscriminatory to limit the work of spouses who are dependents of foreign
\nresidents when other foreigners can work with no limit if they are spouses
\nof Japanese.”<\/p>\n
Nawlar’s wife, L. Hkawshawng, told a news conference in Tokyo that there are
\nlimits for her to support the family as the number of children increases. “I
\ncannot possibly sustain the family alone,” she said.
\nENDS<\/p>\n
===================================
\nContinuing on that note:<\/p>\n
Government tells Iranian family to get out of Japan
\nKyodo News, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006
\nhttp:\/\/search.japantimes.co.jp\/mail\/nn20061209a7.html
\nCourtesy of Matt at The Community<\/p>\n
Immigration authorities on Friday denied an application by an Iranian
\nfamily for a special residence permit to continue living in Japan,
\nofficials said.<\/p>\n
The Justice Ministry gave a one-month extension to Amine Khalil, 43,
\nhis 39-year-old wife and their two daughters, aged 18 and 10, to
\nprepare for their departure.<\/p>\n
The ministry told Amine and his wife of its decision at the Tokyo
\nRegional Immigration Bureau on the final day of their last monthlong
\nextension, the officials said.<\/p>\n
Amine, his wife and their elder daughter came to Japan between 1990
\nand 1991. The younger daughter was born here in 1996. Settling in
\nGunma Prefecture, the family sought a special residence permit,
\narguing they would face difficulties if they returned to Iran.<\/p>\n
The elder daughter, Maryam, who wants to become a nursery school
\nteacher, had planned to begin a two-year junior college course in
\nGunma in the spring.<\/p>\n
She told reporters she wants to continue her life in Japan with her
\nJapanese friends. The younger daughter, Shahzad, is in elementary
\nschool.<\/p>\n
Amine said Japanese is his daughters’ first language and they cannot
\nspeak Farsi, adding they cannot live in Iran.<\/p>\n
In 1999, the family applied to immigration authorities for a special
\nresidence permit. The request was denied and the family was ordered
\nto leave. The Tokyo District Court repealed the deportation order,
\nbut that ruling was overturned by the Tokyo High Court and the
\nSupreme Court upheld the high court decision.<\/p>\n
The Japan Times, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2006
\nENDS<\/p>\n
============================
\nQUICK COMMENT
\nCould somebody please explain me what kind of threat this family could possibly pose to the J body politic by being allowed to stay? <\/p>\n
Is Immigration (not to mention the Supreme Court) worried that this would set a precedent, creating a tidal wave of immigrants staying on beyond their visas then claiming residency as a fait accompli? I’m not even sure that this phenomenon even applies in this case.<\/p>\n
Given the low birthrate and the labor shortage, shouldn’t Japan be to some degree encouraging people with families who want to stay on as immigrants? Debito in Sapporo\n<\/p>\n
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Japan Times reports UNHCR’s Antonio Guterres visit to Japan, where he says that as more people migrate worldwide, Japan will not be able to stop immigration. He added his concern with how people are treated once they get here. Kyodo News article same day gives good example, with a man from Myanmar facing deportation after being caught working full time as a dependent on his wife’s visa filed a lawsuit Wednesday
\nseeking to stay. He argues it is unreasonable to prohibit immigrant families from having a dual income.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,12,4,11,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights","category-immigration-assimilation","category-japanese-government","category-problematic-foreign-treatment","category-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}