Amnesty International Japan said Wednesday it has asked the country's immigration authorities to address the issue of the long-term detention of foreign nationals, which it claims undermines human rights.

The human rights organization submitted a petition to the Justice Ministry and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan asking them to comply with the principle of nonrefoulement that forbids the deportation of individuals in danger of persecution.

It urged the Japanese government to set maximum confinement periods and keep those terms at an absolute minimum, with the country already planning to revise the immigration law in response to criticism of its long-term detention of foreign nationals who refuse to accept deportation.