The East Japan Immigration Center, more commonly known as the Ushiku detention center, stands in the middle of sleepy countryside in Ibaraki Prefecture, 50 km north of Tokyo. With one of the world's tallest standing Buddha statues less than 3 km away, the center could have made a nice country getaway for urbanites seeking rest and respite from the cramped metropolis.
However, Ushiku is anything but a holiday destination for foreigners who come to Japan without proper visas and their families. Technically, Japan's immigration authorities can detain a foreigner without proper documentation for an indefinite period if they suspect the individual has violated the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. On paper, a detention order normally authorizes a maximum detention of 60 days; in reality, however, once a deportation order has been issued, there is no clear limit on how long a person can be held.
According to statistics disclosed by the Ministry of Justice to the Solidarity Networks for Migrants in Japan, 98 foreigners had been detained for six months or longer as of November 2011, with 12 of them locked up for at least 18 months.