Japan's Refugee Debate: What Does the Data Reveal?

The influx of Kurdish immigrants to Kawaguchi City in Saitama Prefecture has sparked discussions about Japan's approach to refugees. Japan has long faced criticism for its low refugee acceptance rate. However, a closer look at the data — especially when compared to European countries known for accepting more refugees — offers some surprising insights.

Differences in Refugee Applicant Profiles

Take the United Kingdom, for example, which is known for its high refugee acceptance rate. According to the Home Office, refugee recognition rates in 2023 ranged from 86% to 99% for applicants from politically unstable countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Sudan, and Eritrea.

Similarly, Japan's Immigration Services Agency reports a recognition rate of around 90% for Afghan applicants.

The significant difference lies in the profile of refugee applicants to the UK and Japan. In Japan, 66% of applications come from five countries, including Cambodia and Sri Lanka, where recognition rates are also low in Europe.

Economic Motives

While the public often envisions refugees as individuals fleeing life-threatening situations, 94% of applicants in Japan are "regular stayers." These individuals initially enter the country on short-term visas for tourism or other purposes, or through programs like technical internships.

In other words, many of these refugee applications may be attempts to extend their stay for economic reasons, diverging from the traditional definition of refugees.

This raises questions about the oft-repeated claim that "Japan is cold to refugees."

The UK has also tightened its refugee screening process to reduce unrelated applications. While rejected applicants can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, further appeals become significantly more challenging if denied again.

Stricter screening not only reduces administrative burdens but also disrupts funding for criminal organizations.

Criminal Networks and Fraudulent Claims

Since the late 1990s, the UK has experienced an increase in unrelated applications from economic migrants. This has heightened the urgency to address crimes involving fraudulent refugee claims.

Since February, Europol, in collaboration with French and German police, has been working to dismantle a large smuggling network of Iraqi Kurds in France. This network has been involved in facilitating fraudulent refugee entries.

These criminal organizations recruit clients from Turkey and the Middle East, smuggling them into the UK or continental Europe via land routes or boats. The clients are charged exorbitant fees, and profits often fund terrorism and other crimes.

The same networks have also been linked to drug and human trafficking, with smuggled individuals sometimes subjected to slavery or sexual exploitation.

Discussions about refugee protection in Japan should consider objective data, societal conditions, and Europe's past experiences. Japan's refugee screening and protection systems are, in fact, quite fair. However, this is rarely reported by the media.