Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said Friday a special committee to discuss the issue of refugees will be created next month under a private advisory group.
The move follows increasing debate and calls for Japan's policy on refugees to be reviewed after an incident in which five North Korean asylum seekers were removed by Chinese police from a consulate in China, sparking a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo.
The committee will consist of around 10 members and will hold its first meeting early next month. Moriyama said she hopes the committee will be able to compile a report by the end of the year.
"The question is how the system to approve refugee status should operate and how to take humanitarian considerations into account and make international contributions," Moriyama told a news conference.
"Considering the various aspects, I would like to reflect that in immigration administration."
The North Korean asylum seekers dodged Chinese police guards to enter the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern China, on May 8, but were removed by police who entered the consulate grounds.
China has rejected Japan's charge that the police entered the consulate without permission from consulate officials.