Japan has recognized a Turkish Kurd as a refugee for the first time, according to the secretariat of the Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees.

The Sapporo Regional Immigration Services Bureau granted the 30-year-old man the status on July 28 after an appeals court ruled in May that he would be at risk of persecution if he returned to Turkey.

Lawyer Koji Yamada, who represented a Turkish Kurd recognized as a refugee, holds a news conference in Sapporo on Tuesday. | KYODO
Lawyer Koji Yamada, who represented a Turkish Kurd recognized as a refugee, holds a news conference in Sapporo on Tuesday. | KYODO