Amnesty calls on Japan to set detention limits for foreigners

the number of foreigners detained in immigration centers across Japan totaled 1,253, of whom 679, or 54 percent, had been in detention for over six months and 251, or 20 percent, had been confined for more than two years,

Even Japanese regular justice system outside immigration will held people indefinitely, at least 20 days. While suspect being charged with multiple allegations, so that suspect will stay in detention in several period of that 20 days. Like 100 days for example.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Nissan-s-Ghosn-crisis/Carlos-Ghosn-released-on-bail-after-108-days-in-Tokyo-jail

Also during waiting trial period they can put people in detention since not all people can pay for bail.

The country does not distinguish between individual cases, with all detainees confined regardless of their situation in principle.

And here is the problem. The JP immigration seems to be unable to separate the wheat from the chaff, lock away fake refugees, ex-convicts and other people who cant write a word in japanese neither have anyone outside (absolutely no reason to remain in Japan at all) along with people living for decades in the country, with family, kids, and for some reason ended up there. (so many petty reasons its not even worth listing here, 1 of them being drug use).

In my opinion non-violent detainees with family in Japan should be processed with highest priority.

Japan is considering allowing foreign nationals applying for refugee status to be released and providing financial support to help them cover basic living costs.

This is rich because they refuse to provide this to their own citizens and residents devestated by the economic impact of a pandemic.

following the death in June last year of a Nigerian man in his 40s who went on hunger strike over his prolonged detention 

This is very sad!

But when I see all these Nigerians in Roppongie, Ueno, Shinjuku...grap my arms, follow me many streets, trying to pull me into a dark corner or club, and trying to cheat me... I really recommend the government to investigate carefully who to let into Japan on refugee status and who to refuse.

Brutal abuse of the the system to break people into obedient puppies.

90% of all detainees I met in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya are here purely to get advantage of the naive japanese!

Just feel sorry for the honest people caught for smoking a joint for the first time, getting their suspended sentence and ending up there for months/years/getting deported while their families/partners wait outside.

Those who observe the law and accept deportation orders are sent back to their home countries, while even those who are here illegally and reject deportation orders will be granted financial assistant. Hardly fair.

The whole concept of detention in Japan needs serious analysis and imvestigation by the UN and Amnesty.

Amnesty calls on Japan to set detention limits for foreigners

Lots of people is waiting in their cells from 2 to 7 years for the refugee process to finish.

Shall we put limits to this cruelty?

Amnesty calls on Japan to set detention limits for foreigners

Lots of people is waiting in their cells from 2 to 7 years for the refugee process to finish.

Shall we put limits to this cruelty?

The whole justice process in Japan is cruel, in regards to detention, for both foriegners and Japanese.

The system is deliberately slow, and designed to cause anyone in detention maximum isolation, cleverly disguised as concern for safely.

Tokyo Detention Center (Kosuge) ought to be demoliished. A disgrace to any decent society.

Detention centers for foriegn refugees are equally disgusting.

Limits maybe a good start, in ending Japans cruelty. But at the end of the day, a massive overhaul of Japans Justice Ministry is required.

"The human rights organization submitted a petition to the Justice Ministry and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan asking them to comply with the principle of non-refoulement that forbids the deportation of individuals in danger of persecution."

Too bad most of the so called refugees are over stayers who were looking to make more money. They should be sent back asap.

Who are these Amnesty International and why do they feel they are in a position to tell the Japanese government what to do? I hope they are duly ignored, I believe that harsh penalties, such as indefinite detention, deter overstayers and other immigration related crimes.

@PSmith 

I think I don't need to explain to you my private life, but to answer your question:

I worked part time in a hotel a few years ago in an area of Tokyo where these Guys are hanging around.

We received many complaints from our guests and also police came to inform us, and among all these troubles it came up that they are Nigerians.

OK, 1 point you are right, I don't know if they are refugees.

But I have a question to you:

Do you think that what these “Guys” are doing is good? Do you support what they are doing? Grapping your arms, trying to cheat you, try to pull you in dark corners...do you think that is good?

And about Japan:

I live since many many years in japan and I love it!

Of course not everything is nice. I also have things to complain, but I don’t understand why many people here try to make Japan looking bad in each small single thing.

If people think it is soooo bad in japan, then they are free to leave. Everyone is free to leave. I know that people don’t want to hear that.

But why do I left my home country and decided to live in Japan? Because it was soooo nice in my home country and because everything was perfect?

No I left my home country because I was not happy and not satisfied there.

But here in Japan I am happy and satisfied! Therefore I decided to live here.

If I am not happy here and if I have too many things too complain, then I will leave and look for a better place to live where I can be happy and satisfied.

And to come back to refugees and my home country. Because of the Syria war, many many refugees came to my home country. Many of them are very very nice, try to integrate and try to learn the language and so on...

But many other of them are bad and criminal people. Crime rises a lot in my home country done by these people.

And nobody wants crime to rise in the country where you are living.

Therefore I said, Japan (but also every country in the world) should clearly investigate if a refugee status should be granted or not.

Agree with @monty.

I'm a non-violent anti-racist pacifist. I’ve been to Roppongi three times. Two times I was forced into self defense situations, by Nigerians. One was very scary because it was a group of 6 big men. Every 20 meters I was asked if I wanted a prostitute, drugs or all you can drink bars.

i thought such places like Roppongi were controlled by yaks, but I spoke to a Ghanaian tout and he told me the area is divided into different areas by gangland agreements. He told me most of the Nigerians stay by finding stupid Japanese women to marry. He told me if you can pass the immigration, Japan is a lottery! No need to get a normal job, he told me doing crime will make you a millionaire back home.

maybe this is why Japanese immigration is so strict?

Who are these Amnesty International and why do they feel they are in a position to tell the Japanese government what to do?

In answer to your first question, Amnesty Internstional are a human rights organisation.

In answer to your second question, they probably feel they are in a position to advise the Japanese Government, because the Japanese Justice Ministry seem to be incapable of understanding basic human rights.

Incidentally, Japan has signed up to the UN Convention for Refugees. But it seems that the Japanese Goverment still have to be told.

Who are these Amnesty International

If the United Nations, Amnesty, and so many international organizations are criticizing Japanese Justice System we should start acknowledging that the problem is in the Japanese Justice System.

To be fair, most asylum seekers are non violent offenders who overstayed their visas and use that as a last excuse and say they will be persecuted if they are sent back home. But the prolonged detention is troubling. I knew a ethnic Chinese Catholic Indonesian women who tried this. Immigration turned down her request because Indonesia officially recognizes 4 religions in their constitution and bigotry doesn’t equal persecution. Lucky for her she was able to find a Japanese man to marry.

foreign nationals who refuse to accept deportation

As the article alludes, the problem of longterm detention lies almost exclusively with a handful of problem countries which refuse to cooperate in the involuntary deportation of their own citizens. No foreign national in Japan has the right to 'refuse to accept deportation' and they should be treated accordingly.

Deportations keep Japan safe !!..

Criminals must be judged by their crimes not by their nationality.

To be born in a different country than Japan doesn't make you deportation material.

People genuinely requesting asylum should go to the NEAREST SAFE COUNTRY. Last time I checked a map, Japan wasn't anchored just 20 miles off the coast of West Africa.

Amnesty International is a self serving organisation that helps no one but itself and can see individuals die in front of their eyes without lifting a finger. Amnesty international only cares about Amnesty international and anyone counting on them is delusional.

besides that I support the timely release of non violent detainees, all the criticism on the justice system here.

Japan does not do itself any favours with locking up overstayers. They should be deported within 30 t0 60 days or released to stay in Japan

This is the commonest of common knowledge when you walk into these streets. Hell, they even admit to it! If you ask.

Yeah, everyone knows it. Common knowledge, innit. #sarcasm

I don't know about you, but this is a tired stereotype pushed by some gaikokujin. They see a black face and all the prejudices bubble up to the surface.

Nigerian seems to be that catch-all, umbrella term to disguise a multitude of ugly sentiments.

By the way, going to Kabukicho or Roppongi is a very minuscule part of experiencing Japan life.

@P.Smith - exactly. And it's hardly representative of either Japan or foreign nationals here, either.

Get em' out of Japan.

be strict,check them all and send them back...all no delays ,just do it in time.

Check who? All foreigners? You and I? Should we have preferential treatment over fellow foreign nationals?

Get em' out of Japan.

Why? How is their presence here harming you?

I guess it's cheaper to detain them than to forcibly deport them.

JUSTICE MEDITATION

°

Ghosn proved that house arrest is impossible to keep in Japan.

So long term preventive retention for obvious case is a necessity or at least a secured village or hotel building providing better care that common prison during investigation. it would a good step to prepare to retention to be too who is inhumane when you think about the change

Amnesty international is not the best advisor here since she has not created the proposition to bring Mr Ghosn back to Japan. I advise to change nothing until Mr Ghosn is safely in Japan Justice Hands.

Since his escape, Japan is nearly compared to a savage dictature and not a modern democracy. What SDF propose to bring Mr Ghosn back if police and Justice say it is impossible ? Mr Ghosn set the rule and equality is the world rule event more in islamic space.

I never understood why those people outside the law juridiction where not bought back. What is Mr Ghosn statue in Lebanese law system who is supposed to be lawful to still be in France protectorate ?

It is important to have countries providing safe heaven in a world where justice is sometime doubtful. But, this is a system for innocent people and not for rich guilty personae who can pay their freedom and think "savage" is the name for country who don't allow rich people to be free thank to a big check like in USA.

Japan lost face in Asia. It needs to think about solution. I am actually surprised even your local criminality didn't have the loyalty to bring him back and let him slide out. In France, this was a dangerous flag of foreign mafia on our soil.

°

NadAge

illegals out.

no pardons.no excuses.

do your job and save taxpayers money.

Japan is not EU!

I agree, I feel the exact same way as you do about illegals in my country as well, but I do believe you need to treat people humanely, you can’t just extend their detention stay indefinitely, this is why people like Carlos Ghosn fled Japan, the system is not fair, its archaic and out of date and doesn’t comply with any modern standards and violates detainees and their basic human rights.

Most mainstream media of Japan have no interest about this issue.

Abe and Suga government virtually connive at this issue .

Japanese nationalists who want to justify everything about Japan defend abuse or human rights violations by immigration bureau.

Yet foreigners still try every way to squeeze in.

why don't they stay at your own countries, too much human rights?

I guess it's cheaper to detain them than to forcibly deport them.

Yes, it's cheaper financially, and avoids the embarrassment of the world press filming people being forced onto airplanes.

The hope is that if a person is kept in detention for long enough, they will eventually just go voluntarily.

Rather like hoping that a person will just confess, if detained for long enough.

Ghosn proved that house arrest is impossible to keep in Japan.

House arrest would work perfectly well if proper standards of bail conditions were set.

Who ever heard of the condition that you cannot contact your spouse, (who has not been charged or indicted for any crime)?

It would seem that under Japans unique concept of human rights, if a person is arrested, then the whole family is guilty.

(Culturally, divide and conquer is an age old Japanese concept).

finally rich, I guess you live up to your username. Japan recognises under 1% of refugees.

And here is the problem. The JP immigration seems to be unable to separate the wheat from the chaff, lock away fake refugees, ex-convicts and other people who cant write a word in japanese neither have anyone outside (absolutely no reason to remain in Japan at all) along with people living for decades in the country, with family, kids, and for some reason ended up there. (so many petty reasons its not even worth listing here, 1 of them being drug use).

In my opinion non-violent detainees with family in Japan should be processed with highest priority.

I'm not sure that people know what causes someone to become a refugee. To leave their homeland and family. Orphaned children from Syria or Iraq would be unable to write a word in Japanese. And how about a Syrian Mother who may have lost all of her family during the civil war. No priority for her because she doesn't have family?

Japan is possibly the richest nation in the world in terms of standard of living. An absolute disgrace that they do not accept many refugees here. And maybe the thinking that they should write Japanese or they should have family is providing excuses for Japan's less than 1%.

Refugees can learn a new language and they can hope for a future family.

PLEASE set rules.

But when I see all these Nigerians in Roppongie, Ueno, Shinjuku...grap my arms, follow me many streets, trying to pull me into a dark corner or club, and trying to cheat me... I really recommend the government to investigate carefully who to let into Japan on refugee status and who to refuse.

Right. We could instead feel much safer with Japanese adult video promoters checking our daughters out on the streets. Or Japanese male scouts scouting female shoppers to work in their illegal clubs. Or Japanese hosts coercing ladies into losing large amounts of money in host clubs. None of whom are stopped by the local Japanese police.

By the way, the Nigerians here are spouses of Japanese wives. None of them are refugees.