The government decided Tuesday to withdraw a bill revising rules on how to accommodate foreign nationals facing deportation, ruling coalition lawmakers said, amid criticism over the alleged improper treatment of a Sri Lankan woman who died while held at an immigration facility.
The abrupt decision to give up on the passage of the bill during the current Diet session through mid-June came amid concerns that pushing through the amendment of the immigration law, which could worsen conditions for asylum-seekers in Japan, could draw public backlash.
In seeking to block the proposed legislation, opposition parties demanded the government get to the bottom of the case involving Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, 33, who died on March 6 at the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau after complaining of stomach pain and other symptoms from mid-January.