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Two detainees at an immigration center in Japan died over the weekend, an official said Monday, just months after the death of another man at the same facility.
An Iranian man in his 30s choked on his dinner on Friday, a spokeswoman at the immigration center in Ushiku, northeast of Tokyo, told AFP, adding that he was taken to hospital but died on Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday morning, a Cameroonian man in his 40s was found unconscious in his cell, she said.
"Officials immediately called an ambulance while giving him cardiac massage," she said, adding he was pronounced dead at hospital about an hour later.
She said the Cameroonian had complained of feeling sick on Thursday, and had been moved from a shared room to a private one. She said he had also seen a doctor.
"The cause of his death is not yet known," she said, adding a autopsy will be carried out on the bodies of both men.
Rights activists say conditions in Japanese detention centers are poor and allegations of mistreatment are rife.
In October last year, an asylum-seeker -- a member of Myanmar's Rohingya ethnic group -- collapsed and died after staff at the Ushiku immigration center failed to call for a medic, allegedly because the doctor was having lunch.
Kimiko Tanaka, a member of a local pressure group, said information was currently hazy, but that campaigners were trying to collect information on both cases.
"We hear that detainees, including roommates of the Cameroonian man, refused to return to their cells, which are locked at night, as a form of protest," she told AFP.
The center's spokeswoman said there had been some disquiet over the man's death, but "things have now returned to normal".
Japan tightly restricts the number of immigrants and asylum-seekers it accepts.
According to Justice Ministry figures for 2013, 3,260 people applied for asylum, many from Turkey, Nepal and Myanmar, as well as countries in South Asia and Africa.
Japan accepted six refugees during the year, down from 18 in the previous year.
© (c) 2014 AFP
37 Comments
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nath
....and no one will ever care a fig in Japan.
Skeeter27
Who is going to take responsibility for these two people died?
Cricky
There appears to be a problem at the center, an inquest would be helpful. But I doubt anything will happen.
gaihonjin
Thomas Anderson
Yeah... 6 out of 3260 is just shameful. Hopefully this classy nation will accept more refugees, and hopefully treat them better than this.
kimuzukashiiiii
skeeter27 - I dont know how you can claim the government should take responsibility for a guy choking on his dinner? Are you proposing we liquidize all food in detention centers?
jerseyboy
As others have noted, this is simply pathetic. Japan wants to be able to be "international" as it comes to all countries of the world buying their products, but wants to ignore the realities of the outside world when it comes to playing a real role in helping people on a humanitarian level. Granted, not every country wants or needs to be as open in this regard as the U.S. or many European countries are. But for the world's 3rd largest economy to only accept six refugees is completely shameful.
honey
Kimuzukasii, Do you honestly believe the report.hope the autopsies are independent
sighclops
Didn't a Ghanaian man die in custody only just last week?! What the hell is going on?!?!
nath
The Ghanaian died over a year ago, what you remember is the outcome of the trial.
bruinfan
May justice prevail with those who caused their death. Just like that man from Ghana a few years back.
Dennis Bauer
Where did those guards get their training? Trying to hide the evidence? oh, choked on his dinner, oh we found him like that.
rickyvee
i think if you're stuck in an immigration cell in any country, you are SOL because the only thing the host country wants to do is to get your butt out of the country.
also, i don't understand why many posters think japan HAS to accept more refugees. why should the humanitarian aspect of it outweigh the cost-benefits?
gogogo
We will never hear the truth, people don't just die
Thomas Anderson
If a country only accepts 6 out of 3260, then one is excepted to accept more. It's just common sense. It's about doing the right thing.
ukguyjp
WHAT the hell is going on!? Seems very suspicious. There should be an official inquiry.
CrazyJoe
The Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act should be revised and these abusive detention houses run by the immigration authorities abolished.
Frungy
The problem with the "immigration centres" in Japan is that visa overstaying is treated as a crime in Japan, the same as rape, murder, terrorism, etc., and "detainees" are treated worse than prisoners because the guards know that they have absolutely no chance of filing a criminal case since they won't be allowed back into Japan and trying to sue from overseas is hopeless.
In short, these "detainees" have no legal protections whatsoever, beyond those provided by pressure from their home governments. Note how it is always people from small countries with little or no power who die? That's because the guards know that they can do as they like and there are no repercussions.
Alejandro S. Arashi
This is a problem even it happened in a Japanese only detention facility. Please investigate and get it sorted fast.
Mar044
ok so they highlight the death of two detained, so japan should open the doors to all like the uk, do you see the huge issues uk faces with immigration.
im sure if you looked at u.s. or canada or any other detention facility you come with random deaths also, nobody can say it doesn't happen, i mean here in canada we have people die of diseases or random events and we have high level of care.
those that cry shame don't know what they are talking about.
Daniel Neagari
Any of your guys that have come to Japan has being detained?
Why do you people think they are detained?... and you know a common cause of chocking in cells and sudden dead are because, something they swallowed burst in their stomachs, or came back to the larynx and asphyxiated the person.
Not to say that every persona that came to Japan has some... shady snack before coming here. And also not to say the treatment that some people get in these Japanese holding facilities.
But there is a need to see this matter under another light, don't you think?
Eduardo Gonzalez
If it's for me to request political asylum, then let it be in Canada. Application first, then the hearing, and the decision. If approved, I could be eligible for PR, in which when going to Japan chase for the same thing
Hellokitty123
Here is an interesting article on Narita's detention center for those who want to read more on the subject. http://globalitemagazine.com/2012/01/10/inside-the-gaijin-dungeon-at-narita-airport-in-japan/
Thunderbird2
So the majority of JT posters believe that the staff at the detention centre are murderers? A guy chokes to death and another... who knows? Ebola is currently on the march in parts of Africa, people also suffer strokes, fatal heart attacks, even DVT can cause death.
However, you want to believe the worst because it fits your own personal world view.
Thomas Anderson
Why do people keep dying at detention centers. It's highly suspicious.
Daniel Neagari
Some one post a "stroy" from a Canadian journalist Mr. Johnson...
Here is the story in the Economist http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/01/japans-immigration-control
The Canadian Embassy knows about this... so either Canada and Japan are in to this together... or maybe there is no "This" at all and is just people dying of various causes (booze and drugs mainly).
poppler
This doesn't tell the whole story. In past years, about a quarter of the applicants received a visa on humanitarian grounds. These people didn't meet all the requirements to be officially recognized as refugees but they basically are refugees.
Thomas Anderson
It doesn't help that Japan has rejected 99% of the applicants. It's obvious that the bureaucrats don't want to have anything to do with the refugees, so they make the hurdle for being accepted unreasonably high.
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/human-rights/topic/refugee_in_japan/faq.html
It has even created abuse of refugees.
nath
Problem faced globally is separating true refugees from economic migrants.
Many economic migrants try to claim refugee status/asylum.
Thunderbird2
People don't only die in Japanese detention centres, they do so all over the world, most recently in PNG, where the centre is run by Australia. Even in my own UK people die in detention centres... and who do they blame first in all cases? Staff. People die from a huge variety of natural causes or misadventure.
I don't know if the staff at the Japanese centre are lying, covering up, or murdering people, but without anything to go on, we once again have the staff being blamed.
Why do I believe what I read despite 'evidence to the contrary'? Why would I believe that a modern, rich country exterminates people in detention centres and covers it up? Because it sounds like a conspiracy theory.
Selchuk Driss
It's the same in almost any western country, rejection of 99% of the applicants is not uncommon, due to most being economic rather than political refugees. However, most of the 99% are not deported, but given temporary visas. Please show me any country where asylum seekers are allowed to work during the screening process.
Tahoochi
Japan would be the last place I would consider to seek asylum. Not very immigrant-friendly...
spucky
This Numbers are very suspicious and a independent Investigation is needed to protect the reputation of Japan!