A Little Boy Standing in the Mud at a Refugee Campsite. photo by Ahmed Akacha
What are Refugees, and How Do We Solve This Problem?
First-year law students ~ H. M. & N. B. C.H.
A Little Boy Standing in the Mud at a Refugee Campsite. photo by Ahmed Akacha
Basic Information About Refugees - N. B.
Our group researched the definition of refugees and how many people are forced to flee their countries. Also, I am interested in why they have to flee from their countries and learn more about solutions. In the first cycle, I searched for basic information about the refugees. 26.3 million are refugees, and 4.2 million are asylum seekers (Shizue, 2021, February 3, para. 4). The author also mentioned that over two-thirds of all refugees originate from five countries, either from the Middle East, Africa, or Asia. Also, recently, Ukrainian people have become refugees after Russia tried to invade Ukraine. 86% of all refugees evacuated to neighboring countries, yet in contrast, in Japan,10,375 people applied for refugee status in 2019, out of which only 44 were accepted (Shizue, 2021, February 3, para. 4). Also, there are problems after they are accepted to live in Japan. Typical problems refugees face would be job hunting (Shizue, 2021, February 3, para. 6). The author also mentioned that if they cannot understand Japanese, it could get even more difficult not only to speak but also to learn Japanese culture is essential. What is polite in other cultures may be considered rude in Japan. Refugees have to learn Japanese if they want to work in Japan. Japan should accept more refugees because they cannot stay in their own country and are seeking protection. All people have human rights, so we must all protect them. Also, after they find jobs, the government and their workplaces should help them learn the language and Japanese culture.
Why Doesn't Japan Accept Refugees? - N. B.
Our group researched why Japan will not accept refugees. There are a lot of reasons, such as historical background, the problem of refugee procedures, and lack of awareness of the refugee issue. I will explain these one by one. Firstly, during the Edo period, Japan did not allow people to enter the country. Japan tends to be closed and reluctant to let people from other countries into Japan. Secondly, there are some problems with refugee procedures. The definition of refugee differs from country to country. In Japan, there are strict standards on whether the information they submit is reliable.Also, refugees have a big burden if they want to be accepted as asylum. In Japan, refugees have to submit their information that they cannot return to their country. However, they burn all evidence before they flee from their country because they are afraid of being refused entry at their destination and sent back to their country (Japan Association for Refugees, 2017, September 10 ). Thirdly, Japanese people have little interest in the refugee problem. The potential for accepting refugees to become a burden on domestic employment and social infrastructure is mentioned, as they are concerned that housing, employment, health care, education, and other support will be needed for the refugees (Shizue, 2021, February 3, para. ). This will put pressure on the country's budget and resources (Japan Association for Refugees, 2017, September 10). I think that it is very difficult to solve this problem, but all people have the same right to be happy. We need to live in the same place, so even though we spent a lot of time to fix it, We have to protect human rights.
How to Solve the Refugee Problem - N. B.
Our group is interested in how Japan helps people who flee from Ukraine. According to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 4 million refugees have left Ukraine by Mar. 29, and 13 million still remain in Ukraine (Kawakushida, 2022, April 4, para. 2). Firstly, not only companies but the local government provide houses (Kawakushida, 2022, April 4, para. 3-6). The Tokyo Metropolitan and Osaka have prepared about 100 public housing units each. In Kanagawa Prefecture, in addition to about 120 units prepared by the prefecture, Yokohama City, a sister city of Odessa, will provide about 80 units, and Kawasaki City will provide about 20 units (Kawakushida, 2022, April 4, para.4). Secondly, ITP provides free tools for creating business manuals for companies and local authorities embracing Ukrainian refugees in Japan (Kawakushida, 2022, April 4, para. 3-9). This helps Ukrainians learn how to do jobs easily and it is very efficient. Thirdly, there are free tools to learn Japanese. The Japanese E-learning app is available at various levels and allows students to learn Japanese conversation, grammar, and vocabulary, as well as Japanese culture (Kawakushida, 2022, April 4, para.10). I think people all over the world are concerned about Ukraine because the country is located on the border between Russia and European countries, which is relevant for energy transportation routes and regional security. In contrast, people who flee from the Middle East, Africa, or Asia are not accepted to live in Japan. I think this is unfair, and we should pay attention to all human rights equality. Therefore, I think we can use what Japan has done for Ukraine as a reference and should do for all refugees.
What are Refugees? - H. M.
Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the refugee crisis has become an extremely serious problem. Our group researched these problems, and have deepened our understanding of the refugees.
First, what is a “refugee?” According to the USA for UNHCR (n.d. para.1 ), a refugee is “someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence.” On this website, there was a lot of information about refugees, and it noted that 52% of refugees come from three different countries, Syria, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. In Syria, over 90% of the population lives below the poverty rate, and more than 2 million children from Syria live below the poverty line (USA for UNHCR n.d. para. 3 The same as Syria, Ukraine, and Afghanistan also have a lot of people displaced inside their countries, but the reasons for the refugee problems are various. I thought the reason why Ukraine has many refugees is because of the war with Russia, and my guess was correct. In Afghanistan, there are some conflicts inside the country.
Second, I researched refugees in Japan and found some serious problems. I was surprised at the fact that while 3,722 people applied for Refugee status, only 202 people were accepted in Japan (Japan Association for Refugees, n.d., para. 4). I think that Japan does not have many refugees, so Japanese people, including me, do not know the situation refugees are in.
Situation of Refugees in Japan - H. M.
We researched Refugees in Japan. I found three sites and found some problems about refugees in Japan. First, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (n.d.), the Japanese government tackled the Indo-Chinese refugee problem where Japan accepted 11,319 people from 1978 to 2005. I was surprised because I did not think that the Japanese government actively accepts refugees so much. And the government also allows refugees who already live in Japan to invite their families from their countries. Not only that, but also many support systems for things such as job hunting. Although the Japanese government does provide some support to refugees, there are a lot of problems. Nori (2023, November 20), noted that the definition of “refugee” in Japan is too narrow to accept people escaping from Ukraine as refugees. According to this article, the Japanese government does not recognize “conflict” as a valid reason for refugee application. I think it is not reasonable because many people are suffering from “conflict” and becoming refugees. As I researched in Journaling 1, the Syrian conflict is a big reason that many people there have lost their homes. I agreed with the “Japanese government should redefine the means of Refugee," mentioned in the article.
Then, I found another problem. Tian (2023, August 16) noted that the Japanese diet approved a proposal for revision of the “Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition.” Because of this decision, it approved the deportation of asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected twice. However, this decision was strongly criticized by opposition parties, saying that " Opening the door to deporting innocent people back to almost certain harm." I learned there is some support for refugees in Japan, but they still have many issues.
Activities to Solve the Refugee Crisis - H. M.
Then, how can we solve the refugee crisis and save a lot of people? I researched effective solutions to improve the situation of refugees. I found some activities that make an effort to support refugees. First, I checked up on the activities of JAR, Japan Association for Refugees (n.d.), that supports refugees in Japan. There are three main activities. The first one is legal support. According to the site, “JAR provides multilingual information on refugee application procedures and, working together with lawyers as needed, provides assistance such as advising on preparing documents and collecting evidentiary material” (Japan Association, n.d. para.1). The second one is Social support. They provide not only food or water, but also medical support, and housing. And the site notes that they are making an effort to negotiate with medical institutions and the government. The third one is integration support. JAR helps refugees to be independent socially, such as finding a job, or starting a business. JAR also helps them to communicate with the local community (Japan Association, n.d. para. 3) In addition to these activities, they propose their opinions to the government and make various efforts to support refugees.
Next, I researched UNHCR (n.d.), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is also an organization that supports refugees, and it was established in 1950. The UNHCR does not only provide emergency support, such as food, water, and clothing, but also provides many kinds of support. For example, it implements training for teacher development and sets up a classroom where children can learn safety (UNHCR, n.d. para. 2-3). Not only educational support, but many support systems are conducted for refugees. I think we could solve the refugee problem if people have an interest in those groups’ activities and donate to them.
Refugee Health - C. Y.
The UN is trying to solve the refugee problem through the 16th goal of the SDGs: Peace and Justice. However, it has been criticized for not mentioning the situation faced by refugees with regard to the right to health (Kähler & Kristiansen, 2015, September 15). More than half of the refugees from the Syrian civil war are under the age of 18 and are forced to live in irregular conditions (Lancet Editorial, 2015, September 12). They lack access to fundamental determinants of health such as food, water, sanitation, and security, as well as essential health services that are especially important for vulnerable populations such as women and children. There must be a concerted effort and special attention by countries to ensure the right to health for both internally displaced persons and the millions of people who cross borders in their often dangerous and desperate search for safety.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we found that the Refugee Status Determination of Japan still has a lot of problems. We think that every person has equal rights, and so we have to help refugees as “people the same as them.” We have to continue discussing effective solutions, and implement them to make the situation improve.
References (copied from Classes 07-09 in alphabetical (ABC order):AAR Japan (n.d.) Refugee assistance
AAR Japan (n.d.) Refugee assistance