Last in a series
Bills to tighten controls on foreign residents will probably increase the hardships faced by applicants for refugee status, Amnesty International Japan's refugee officer, Tomoko Ishii, told The Japan Times recently.
The bills, which make it easier for the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau to crack down on illegal residents, will greatly impact refugee applicants, many of whom overstay their visas or hold jobs despite having nonworking visas. Meanwhile, the bills do little to improve applicants' chances of being granted refugee status, Ishii said.