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ZWC_yamada On December 18, 2014, 32 undocumented immigrants—26 Sri Lankan nationals and 6 Vietnamese nationals—were forcibly deported by chartered flight. Those deported included 31 men and 1 woman, aged 25 to 64 (Asahi Shimbun, December 20, 2014).
The Ministry of Justice's Immigration Bureau has already repatriated 75 Filipino nationals on July 6, 2013, and 46 Thai nationals on December 8, 2013, via chartered flights. An investigation conducted by APFS in the Philippines from July 25 to 28, 2013, revealed that all of those repatriated were unable to find work and were in dire straits. Some were also separated from their partners or children residing in Japan, and were physically and mentally exhausted. Furthermore, it was discovered that some had suffered bruises during the repatriation process. The repatriation via chartered flights to the Philippines was questioned in the Diet on November 5, 2013, raising concerns about humanitarian considerations and the protection of human rights.
Furthermore, on March 22, 2010, Abubagar Awudu Suraj (a Ghanaian national), who was being assisted by APFS in obtaining special permission to stay in Japan, died during his deportation at government expense. A lawsuit seeking state compensation for this incident is still ongoing. The first instance judgment acknowledged excessive restraint by immigration officers. The fact that forced deportations have resumed while the truth of this incident, in which the actions of immigration officers during deportation are being questioned, has not yet been investigated is nothing short of an outrage.
Among the 32 people deported to Sri Lanka and Vietnam on December 18th were some who had just been denied refugee status, leading to criticism that they were deprived of their right to file a lawsuit to overturn the denial of refugee status within six months (Mainichi Shimbun, December 19, 2014). This mass deportation included not only those preparing to file lawsuits seeking refugee status, but also people separated from their families, including children under one year old, and has been criticized as "humanitarianly problematic" (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, December 20, 2014). Furthermore, some of those deported have no means of support in their home countries and may end up homeless.
Furthermore, according to The Japan Times (December 20, 2014), this was the first time that not only overstayers but also asylum seekers were deported on chartered flights. Among those deported who were not granted refugee status were political asylum seekers and individuals who had actually been involved in anti-government movements, such as demonstrating in front of their home country's embassy in Japan, and they may face the risk of persecution upon their return. In this sense, the potential harm to the welfare of those deported is significantly higher compared to the two chartered deportations last year. Although not illegal, such mass deportations raise questions about whether they constitute an abuse of power by the government.
Furthermore, repatriation by chartered flights, which are out of the sight of the general public, poses even greater safety risks than repatriation by regular aircraft, and mass repatriation that disregards the individual circumstances of those being repatriated is inhumane and unacceptable.
APFS strongly protests these forced repatriations via chartered flights to Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
December 22, 2014
APFS (ASIAN PEOPLE'S FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY), a specified non-profit organization.