Japan’s Justice Ministry reported last week that the country granted refugee status to a record 303 asylum-seekers in 2023, surpassing the previous high of 202 set in 2022. The increase comes amid changes to Japanese immigration laws, which created a quasi-refugee status for foreign nationals fleeing active conflict zones.
The East Asian island nation, which has stringent immigration controls, has seen a significant increase in refugee applications from countries such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Ethiopia. The total number of asylum-seekers applying for refuge in Japan reached 13,823 in 2023, representing more than a threefold increase from the prior year’s figures. A majority of the accepted refugees, 237 individuals, hailed from Afghanistan. Despite the rise in total asylum-seekers, the approval rate remained low, at just 2.2 percent.
In addition to those granted full refugee status, the Justice Ministry reported that 1,005 individuals, predominantly from Ukraine, were permitted to reside in Japan on humanitarian grounds. However, these individuals did not meet the stringent criteria for refugee status. The changes to Japan‘s refugee program have allowed for a new category of “subsidiary protection,” aimed at providing asylum to persons escaping ongoing conflicts. Since its introduction on December 1, 1,110 applications for special status were filed, 1,101 of which were from Ukrainian nationals. By the end of February, 647 applicants had been granted quasi-refugee status, 644 of which were Ukrainians.
According to the Department of State, the number of official refugee admissions into the United States is 125,000 per year—a number set by the Biden government. However, when the number of asylum seekers granted temporary residence pending an immigration court appearance is included, that number is much higher—likely in the millions per year.
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