From Syria to Afghanistan to South Sudan, conflict this year has pushed the number of people seeking refuge around the world to numbers not seen since World War II.
According to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of people forced to flee their homes due to persecution, human rights violations and conflict exceeded 51.2 million: 16.7 million refugees, 33.3 million who are displaced internally in their home countries and 1.2 asylum-seekers.
The Japanese branch of the UNHCR aims to educate people here on the realities of victims of conflict around the world, and hopes to do so by hosting its ninth Refugee Film Festival in Tokyo, Hyogo Prefecture and Hokkaido from this weekend.