Tokyo: Japan’s House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill to revise the immigration control and refugee recognition law to allow authorities to deport foreign nationals seeking refugee status in Japan under certain conditions.

At a plenary meeting of the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, the bill was approved by a majority vote with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner, Komeito, and two opposition parties–Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) and the Democratic Party for the People.

The bill calls for creating an exception to the existing rule suspending the deportation of foreign nationals illegally staying in Japan if they have applied for refugee status.

The envisaged change is designed to allow the deportation of such foreigners if they have applied for refugee status three or more times in a bid to prevent those trying to avoid deportation by applying for refugee status repeatedly.

The bill is also aimed at establishing a system to allow such foreigners to live outside detention centers on condition that they are supervised by individuals designated by the Immigration Services Agency to prevent them from being detained at immigration facilities for a long time.

The bill calls for creating a system to grant quasi-refugee status to people displaced by conflict who are not recognized as refugees under the U.N. refugee convention so that they can live in Japan.

JIJI Press