The Kyoto Bar Association recently issued a statement from its head showing its opposition to the immigration law revisions being deliberated in Japan’s House of Councillors.
Claiming to solve the problem of illegal foreigners being detained for long periods in immigration facilities, the proposed Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act amendments would limit the current rule against deporting foreigners who are applying for refugee status in Japan. It would limit the number of applications to two in principle, and allow those applying for a third time or more to be deported.
In a May 22 statement titled “Opposition to the poor revision of the immigration law,” chairman Seiji Yoshida argued that the proposed new system would forcibly remove people facing circumstances that prevent them from leaving Japan, and stressed that it “may violate the principle that no one should be deported to a country where they are in danger of persecution.”