Japan to accept 30 Myanmar refugees from Thailand

Dec 18, 2008, 8:46 GMT

   Tokyo - Japan will accept around 30 refugees from Myanmar who are currently seeking refuge Thailand in the fiscal year starting April 2011, the Kyodo news agency reported Thursday.

   Government officials quoted in the report referred to a recent government decision to introduce a so-called third-country refugee resettlement programme.

   The programme calls for third countries to accept refugees who flee from their conflict-stricken home countries to nearby states but find it hard to resettle in either of those nations.

   Under the scheme, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees will compile a list of such refugees while Japanese officials will interview applicants from among those listed.

   Japan will be the first country in Asia to accept refugees under that programme, the officials said.

   After accepting the refugees, the Japanese government will provide language lessons and professional training for them to resettle in Japan.

   The United States, Canada, Australia and some European countries have already introduced the third-country refugee resettlement programme.

   The number of foreign nationals applying for refugee status in Japan is likely to hit an all-time high of around 1,500 in 2008, mainly due to political instability in countries such as Myanmar, Kyodo reported earlier, quoting sources familiar with the matter.

   But the increase in applications, however, has delayed the screening process, leaving many claimants impoverished in Japan, the report said.

   Of the expected applicants, about 50 are likely to be recognized as refugees. Another 400 people, a four-fold jump from 2007, are expected to obtain special permits to stay in Japan on humanitarian grounds.

    In 2007, screening took an average of 20 months, according to Kyodo.

   Many of the applicants have been forced to lead impoverished lives in Japan while waiting for the ministry's decisions, because they are banned from working and are not eligible for public assistance.

   Applicants may receive aid from the Foreign Ministry via a welfare foundation set up to help refugees from other Asian countries, but its budget has been depleted, the report said.