Japan’s government has withdrawn a controversial immigration bill after mounting public criticism, The BBC reports.
Debate over the bill had in part been sparked by the recent death of a young Sri Lankan woman held in an immigration detention facility.
The bill would have made it easier to deport failed asylum seekers and given more power to immigration authorities.
Japan has a significantly lower rate of accepting asylum seekers than other developed countries.
The legislation was largely aimed at dealing with the long detention of asylum seekers after their applications failed.
Currently, deportations cannot be enforced while an asylum application is still pending and there is no limit to how many times refugees can renew their applications.
The proposed bill would have allowed asylum seekers to only file two applications before being deported, unless there was new justification for a third consideration of the case.
The government’s withdrawal of the bill comes in the face of mounting public attention and pressure over the issue, sparked by a recent tragic death of a woman held in immigration detention.
Although not an asylum seeker, the case of Wishma Sandamali put the spotlight on Japan’s overall treatment of immigrants.
The 33-year old died in early March in a facility in Nagoya. According to Japanese media, she went to the police in August 2020 seeking help for domestic violence but was then detained for overstaying her visa.
The case was picked up by activists to sound the alarm over the situation in Japans immigration detention centres. (BBC)
Sri Lankan woman dies in detention, wrote about her hunger – Japan Media