OSAKA -- A Kurdish asylum seeker detained at an immigration facility in Osaka Prefecture is being denied proper medical treatment, although he has symptoms of high blood pressure and heart trouble, a refugee aid group in Osaka said Wednesday.
The 33-year-old man had been taking medication for hypertension and had a suspected heart problem, but after his detention he had to wait a long time before being allowed to see a doctor, according to the Osaka Archdiocese of the Catholic Commission of Japan for Refugees, Migrants and People on the Move.
In addition to its calls that the man be given adequate medical care, the commission proposes that there be a full-time doctor at the center.
The man, of Turkish nationality, arrived in Japan in 1997 and applied for refugee status in 1999; his application was rejected last February, the commission said.
Nagoya immigration authorities took him into custody after his asylum application was rejected, and in May he was transferred to the immigration detention center in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, according to the commission.
The Ibaraki center said a doctor can be called if a detainee requests it, but the detainee will have to wait at times, due to factors such as the doctor's availability.
The commission said a request was made early this month for the man to see a doctor, but the center reportedly said no doctor was available at the moment and the detainee would have to wait for a week or so.
The man was able to see a doctor after that, but he suffered breathing difficulties on July 13 and was unable to get medical attention, according to the commission.