Justice Ministry to double number of advisers on refugees

Wednesday 11th November, 04:50 AM JST

TOKYO —

The Justice Ministry will double the number of third-party advisers it uses to examine the objections of refugee-status seekers whose applications have been turned down, with a view to speeding up the review process, Justice Minister Keiko Chiba said Tuesday. Currently, the ministry takes an average of more than two years to reach a final decision from the time an application for refugee status is filed.

Chiba told a regular news conference that her ministry will appoint about a dozen new advisers in January and more in April with the intention eventually to double the number of so-called refugee examination counselors from the present 28. ‘‘I’d like to increase the number of the advisers so as to speed up the examination process,’’ Chiba said, noting that her ministry is currently unable to reach swift decisions on cases as it has been inundated with petitions from people seeking refugee status.

Created in May 2005 under the immigration control and refugee recognition law, the counselors have the task of advising the justice minister on objections filed by refugee-status seekers in order to ensure that the procedure is fair and even-handed. The number of refugee-status seekers in Japan rose more than 10-fold to 1,599 in 2008 from only 133 in 1998, mainly because of a sharp increase in applications from persons fleeing Myanmar, which is ruled by a military junta.

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8 Comments

smithinjapan at 12:57 PM JST - 11th November

So they're just going to double the number of people it takes to say 'no'?
Beelzebub at 01:25 PM JST - 11th November

HA! At this rate the "advisers" in Japan will outnumber the refugees.
itshay at 01:49 PM JST - 11th November

Sounds like we'll have more touts on the streets in Roppongi.
Yelnats at 03:08 PM JST - 11th November

What will happen is that the cases will get done faster and the losers will get kicked out earlier. Sounds mean to me. This place needs refugees and others to support the economy.
timorborder at 04:03 PM JST - 11th November

This woman is a dynamo. She has already gone off about the death penalty, and has reportedly kicked a few heads down at the Ministry of Justice who planned on business as usual under the new government. Now she is getting on with the issue of refugees.
dolphingirl at 07:01 PM JST - 11th November

timorborder: I totally agree. She is determined to make changes and most of them sound good! The immigration in Japan is slower than molasses so I think this is probably a positive step. However, more advisors may not be the only thing needed to speed the process. They should also look at making the procedures and paperwork shorter, simpler & more efficient and take out any redundancies. Keep up the good work, Keiko!
tmarie at 10:45 PM JST - 11th November

While I certainly think they need to increase the numbers, they need to improve their support - not to mention their attitude towards foreigners...
yourock at 11:55 PM JST - 11th November

good for the gene pool, but not having 'Japanese blood' will always be an issue. helping refugees is a must, if you've been to a country like Myanmar.