The number of evacuees from Ukraine to Japan since Russia's invasion of the Eastern European country began in late February reached 1,000 on Saturday, immigration authorities said.
Japan, which traditionally recognizes only around 1% of refugee applications, has so far been accepting evacuees from Ukraine under a special measure, without granting them refugee status.
On Saturday, five Ukrainians — men and women between ages 17 and 67 — entered Japan, adding to a tally of 995 from three days ago, according to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan.
The government has provided support to Ukrainians, including by making a few seats available in a once-a-week commercial flight out of Poland for those wishing to take refuge in Japan.
The government provides daily living allowances of up to ¥2,400 ($19) to evacuees who do not have any relatives or acquaintances to turn to. It has also helped them register with municipalities and find work.
In addition, the government shoulders their expenses for medical services and Japanese-language lessons.
As of Friday, at least 6.4 million people have fled from Ukraine since Feb. 24, the day Moscow launched its invasion, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Japan has often faced criticism for being conservative in accepting refugees. In the latest Justice Ministry figure for 2021, out of 2,413 asylum-seekers, 74 people were recognized as refugees under the provisions of the immigration control and refugee recognition law.
Another 580, compared with 44 in the previous year, were permitted to stay in Japan for humanitarian reasons even though they were not granted refugee status.