Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The family of Wishma Rathnayake, a 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman who died in a Japanese immigration detention center in March 2021, met with opposition Diet members on Wednesday at the House of Councilors.

Wishma’s death may not prove to be in vain as she became a symbol in the fight against a proposed new immigration bill that would have permitted deportation of asylum seekers while their status was still being assessed.

During the meeting with parliamentarians from the Constitutional Party, Social Democratic Party and Communist Party, Wishma’s family lawyer asked Wishma’s sister about her expected response from Japan’s Minister of Justice.

Wishma’s sister says she met the justice minister on May 18 and asked for an apology for her sister’s death.  The justice minister refused to apologize and refused to disclose details of her death.

A young Japanese student from Nagoya who is a member of an immigrant support group says she met Wishma during her detention and revealed several details about Wishma’s state of health, which deteriorated significantly in March.

Despite requests, immigration authorities refused to provide Wishma with adequate medical treatment and she died soon after.

After the parliamentarians observed a minute of silence to pay tribute to Wishma, her sister expressed her gratitude for the work of the parliamentarians and refugee association START and expressed her hope that this tragedy would never be repeated.