"Citizens' Forum on Special Permission to Stay" to be launched

APFS continues to provide support for the regularization of undocumented immigrants.

Until the end of 2014, irregular residents who had been issued a deportation order (an order to return to their country) could apply for a reconsideration (requesting a second review from the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice) based on changes in their circumstances after the issuance of the order, and in fact, in several cases, they were granted permission to stay in Japan. However, since 2015, almost no such cases have been granted permission to stay in Japan.

In addition, the number of "special permission to stay" (when the Minister of Justice grants permission to irregular residents to stay) is also on the decline. Although there are "Guidelines for Special Permission to Stay", there are still no clear standards, and the actual situation of their implementation is unclear. Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice and the Immigration Bureau are currently making decisions to separate parents and children. There are families and individuals who have been suffering for a long time with no prospects for the future, and it is urgent to solve this problem.

APFS has gathered lawyers who are working on lawsuits regarding irregular residents, researchers in sociology and other fields, and members of "support groups" that support irregular residents in the local area, and has developed a system for applying for special residence permits based on the aforementioned "Guidelines."
In order to consider the nature of the system, three "Opinion Exchange Meetings on Special Permission to Stay" were held on September 1, 2016 (1st meeting), October 5 (2nd meeting), and December 9 (3rd meeting).

In the first session, a lawyer introduced "tendencies in court cases," reporting that although there are many lawsuits to annul "decisions that do not grant special residence permission," there are few cases in which the case has been won. A major factor cited as the reason for this is that the Minister of Justice's discretion is extremely broad. However, since 2001, there have been cases in which cases have been won based on the so-called proportionality principle. Researchers pointed out that "it is strange that laws and guidelines should be universal, but they are not," and that "Japan is in violation of international human rights treaties, even though it is a signatory to them. The best interests of the child should be considered, but the courts' decisions do not follow this."

In the second meeting, in order to verify the "universality" of the "Guidelines for Special Permission to Stay," it was decided to evaluate several cases in accordance with the "Guidelines." It was also proposed that a proposal regarding "Special Permission to Stay" be made to the "Immigration Control Policy Council" of the Ministry of Justice.

In addition, there was a suggestion that the current situation of irregular residents should be conveyed when cases are reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights and when the United Nations Human Rights Committee visits Japan to conduct its examinations.

In the third session, the results of evaluations of several cases in accordance with the "Guidelines for Special Permission to Stay" were reported. However, there were significant differences between the evaluators in how to reflect the "positive elements" and "negative elements," which once again highlighted the difficulty of determining whether or not to grant special permission to stay.

It was confirmed that going forward, this meeting will not end as an "exchange of opinions," but will continue to operate under the name "Citizens' Forum on Special Residence Permission," with the aim of making concrete recommendations to the Immigration Control Policy Forum and other organizations.

Future issues for the Citizens' Forum will include following up on past discussions at the Immigration Control Policy Forum, inviting researchers who specialize in issues such as amnesty (simultaneous legalization) in various countries and special residence permits to hold hearings, etc.

Members of the "Citizens' Forum on Special Permission to Stay" (as of January 10, 2017)
Tetsuo Mizukami (Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Rikkyo University) *Chairperson
Koichi Kodama (Attorney at Law)
Komai Tomochika (Lawyer)
Yoshiaki Noro (Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Rikkyo University)
Tsuki Tsuki (Associate Professor, Department of Social Sciences, College of Humanities, Ibaraki University)
Yoshinori Matsushima (Representative of the Association for Supporting Filipino Families)
Junpei Yamamura (Doctor at Minatomachi Clinic)
Akiko Watanabe (Representative of the Association for Supporting Iranian Mothers and Children)
Chie Watanabe (Lawyer)

Jotaro Kato (APFS Representative Director)
Cho Heon-rae (APFS Regular Member)
Mayumi Yoshida (APFS Vice Representative Director)
Katsuo Yoshinari (APFS Director and Advisor)