Friday, June 19, 2020, 13:00 - 14:00
Shogo Watanabe, Attorney, Izumibashi Law Office
Koichi Kodama, Attorney, Representative of Attorneys Fighting Against Detention, Hammersmith Oath
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation.
Lawyers Supporting Irregular Migrants Speak against Japan's Tighter Immigration Control
Japan accepts less than 1% of asylum seekers – a far lower proportion than other major industrial nations – and is now poised to revamp the immigration control law to make it easier to deport insufficiently documented foreigners.
Lawyers opposed to the change will explain the Justice Ministry's planned legislation, which, they say, will enable the immigration office to press criminal charges against migrants who resist deportation orders, including those seeking refugee status without proper documentation. They say that a possible prison term will help force these "resisters" to accept deportation, even though they face persecution, or worse, in their home countries.
An advisory panel of experts was set up by the ministry's Immigration Services Agency in October to discuss measures to "prevent an increase in the number of deportation resisters and to prevent the prolongation of their detention". It will soon propose legal amendments that could be submitted to parliament this year.
There are fears that the new legislation could worsen the plight of undocumented foreigners, many of whom are kept in prolonged detention, with some resorting to hunger strikes to protest their treatment.
How to attend: Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, name of media outlet, FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions, please note there will be a limited number of reservations to attend. Doors open at 12:30. Please sign in your name and contact details at the reception with your own pen and to have your temperature taken before proceeding. *
How to watch online: https://vimeo.com/427669897
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel.
How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/DsSDquvFfA6Ctv527
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form (English only).
TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Door open for TV crews only at 12:15. There will be five positions available for livestreaming.
Professional Activities Committee
