A new liaison office should be established under the Cabinet Secretariat to better deal with refugee issues, a Liberal Democratic Party panel said in a report on Japan's refugee policy obtained Saturday.

The review comes in the wake of the seizure of North Korean asylum seekers by Chinese police inside the Japanese consulate in Shenyang in May. The incident raised questions about Japan's handling of refugees and asylum seekers.

According to the report, the new organ will liaise among government offices concerned to draft comprehensive measures and a new policy on refugees.

Both the Justice and Foreign ministries have been deeply involved in drafting the report. The government is thus expected to map out a new administrative policy based on the paper after it receives another report from an advisory panel to the justice minister on immigration control policy.

The LDP report says the government should grant refugee applicants resident status. It also advises better treatment of those who apply for refugee status and for refugees already granted such status.

The report consists of three pillars -- strengthening of the liaison functions of the Cabinet secretariat, improving refugee authorization procedures and expanding support mechanisms.

In terms of the strengthening of liaison functions, the LDP panel is considering reorganizing an existing liaison group under the Cabinet secretariat that deals with refugees from Indochina, from where the bulk of refugees accepted by Japan come.

To improve the refugee recognition process, the report calls for the extension of the application period from the current 60 days after prospective applicants enter the country to 180 days.

Applicants would be granted residency status on the condition that they enter a facility to be newly established.

If the Immigration Bureau turns down a person's application for refugee status and the applicant files an objection, a third party would be involved in the bureau's examination of the objection to ensure transparency and fairness, the report says.

In expanding the support systems, the panel proposes that the International Refugee Assistance Center in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward be reorganized into a new protection facility providing people applying for refugee status with food, clothing and shelter.

Although applicants should in principle reside in the facility, they could be allowed to stay at alternative locations if there is no fear of them absconding.

The government currently does not provide support for permanent residency for those with authorized refugee status. The report advises that the state be required to provide refugees with assistance, such as Japanese language education and job training programs.

The LDP report also urges the government to prompt China to improve its refugee authorization systems. It says China, as a member country, should adhere to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.