2 Acceptance of Refugees by Japan
● History of the RHQ
In April 1979, the Government of Japan decided on a framework
for resettling of Indochinese refugees.
In July of the same year, the Cabinet Secretariat of the
Coordination Council for Incochinese refugees and Displaced
Persons was set up and it entrusted the work of resettlement to
the Refugee Assistance Headquarters（RHQ）which was set up
under the Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the
Asian People in November.
In Japan, people who were given permission to resettle as
Indochinese refugees are living, along with children who were
born in Japan and other family members.
In 1982 Japan acceded to the Refugee Convention, and
established a refugee status recognition system. Each
application filed by an asylum seeker is examined in light of the
applicant's qualification for refugee status. So far, some 300
people have been recognized as Convention refugees by the
Ministry of Justice.
In August 2002, it was decided with a Cabinet approval that
assistance for resettlement of Convention refugees, as well as
their families.
1980
Resettlement Promotion Center opens in Yamato City, Kanagawa Prefecture
1982
Refugee Reception Center opens in Omura City, Nagasaki Prefecture,
and temporary protection project starts
1983
International Refugee Assistance Center opens in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo
1995
Omura Refugee Reception Center closes down (Total number of residents 7,965)
Assistance for asylum seekers, overseas refugee assistance project,
and volunteer development project start
1996
Himeji Resettlement Promotion Center closes down (Total number of residents 2,640)
Kansai Branch opens in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture
1979
1998
Yamato Resettlement Promotion Center closes down (Total number of residents 2,641)
2003
Assistance to Convention refugees begins
Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian People Bldg, 2nd Floor
5-1-27 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0047
Tel: 81-3-3449-7011
Shibuya
Aoyama Cemetery
Fax: 81-3-3449-7016・17
Metropolitan
Near Exit 3 of Hiroo subway
Expressway No.3
Takagi-cho
station (H03), Hibiya Line
H
Meidiya
Shinagawa
3,536
Total
11,087
●Kansai Branch
2,474
1,820
625
100,000
Arisugawa
Memorial
Park
Tengenji Temple
Metropolitan
Expressway No.2
※Note: This includes permit for change of the Status of Residence or Extension of
Period of Stay based on humanitarian consideratior.
Eritrea
Burundi
●International Refugee
Assistance Center
nyo
R Sa
Kobe Crystal Tower
Who Are Indochinese Refugees?
Line
J
Harborland
Kawasaki
Data Published March 2004
odaiba
ay
sw
res
Exp
n
a
t
poli Line
tro
Me angan
W
JR
Tokyo Bay
15
i Line
Rinka
er Wharf
Oi Contain
No.2 Berth
Tokyo Monorail
Metropolitan Expressway
No.1
Oimachi
JR
Keihin Tohoku Line
Aomono
Kaigan-dori
o Yokocho
yuk
in K
Keihilway
Ra
Yamanote Line
3-2-1 Yashio, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0003
Tel: 81-3-3799-1001
Konan-guchi
Fax: 81-3-3799-3079
By bus from JR Shinagawa Station
Get off at Berth 2 depot
Sudan
Central Post Office
Daiei
Shinagawa
About the RHQ
The RHQ is entrusted by the Japanese government. We manage
and operate the Kansai Branch and the International Refugee
Assistance Center to promote the resettlement of Indochinese
refugees, Convention refugees, etc., in Japan. We also carry out
various operations for refugee assistance. RHQ's assistance
work has been carried out thanks to commission funds from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Agency for Cultural
Affairs, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Somalia
Angola
315
275
Viet Nam
Dem. Rep.
of the Congo
Nihon Seimei Kobe Ekimae Bldg
3,118
Special permission to stay on
humanitarian reason out of non-approved※
1,000,000
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Kobe
●Applications for refugee status in Japan（2003.12.31）
Approved
10,000
Afghanistan
Iraq
N
u
Kosok
Family members under the ODP
Application
●Major Countries of Origin of Refugees, 2004
（UNHCR data）
Nihon Seimei Kobe Ekimae Bldg, 11th Floor
2-1-18 Nakamachi-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo Prefecture 650-0027
Tel: 81-78-361-1700
hi
ac
Minatogawa Shrine
Fax: 81-78-361-1323
om
ot
i-M
In front of JR Kobe Station
ish
Kobe District Court
Kob
e Sta
tion
Former students (Refugees sur place)
Resettlement arrivals from
South East Asian refugee camps
Line
Hiroo
Metropolitan Hospital
Kob
eS
tatio
n
Asylum Seekers in Japan
ubway
Hiroo
73
1,233
ri
←44
i-do
1,282
Meij
↑
Sacred Heart
(School)
Ebisu
Yokohama
Vietnamese
8,455（76%）
ibiya S
Nisseki
Medical Care Center
Roppongi
Yamanote Line
Lao
1,366（12%）
The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees defines refugees
as "[Any person who] . . . owing to well-founded fear of being
persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his
nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail
himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a
nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual
residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear,
is unwilling to return to it."
In addition, displaced persons who move out their own country
because their lives and physical freedom are endangered due to war or
political turmoil are also sometimes called "refugees" in the broad sense.
Throughout the world, a total of 20.6 million refugees (as of January
2003) are said to exist in the broad sense. Internal protection and relief
activities for them have been carried out by various countries including
Japan, under the leadership of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR).
●Head Office
●Indochinese Refugee Resettlement in Japan（2003.12.31）
Cambodians
1,326（12%）
1 Who Are Refugees?
Project launched to promote the resettlement of Indochinese refugees
in Japan under the commission from the government
Resettlement Promotion Center opens in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture
People say, one out of every 300 persons
in the world is a refugee.
April 2004
Refugee Assistance Headquarters
Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian People
http://www.rhq.gr.jp/
Indochinese refugees are those who escaped overseas by boat (as boat
people) or to neighboring countries by land (as land people), to avoid
socialism and internal warfare, following the end of the war in 1975, from
three countries in Indo-China: Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Roughly 1.3
million Indochinese refugees have resettled in countries such as the
United States, Australia, Canada and Japan, through refugee camps in
the Asian region or as boat people. In 1975 the first boat people from
Vietnam landed in Japan, and refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
who come to hope to resettle in Japan were living in overseas refugee
camps. Since 1979, the Orderly Departure Program (ODP) based on the
agreement between UNHCR and the Vietnamese government, allows
family members of refugees to legally depart Vietnam to reunite, and
Japan has decided to accept these individuals as Indochinese refugees.
About 600,000 Vietnamese have left the country under the ODP.
3 The Work of the RHQ
Projects to Promote Resettlement
Acceptance into the Center
The International Refugee Assistance Center in Shinagawa, Tokyo,
accepts Indochinese refugees, Convention refugees and their
families who meet certain qualifications, and offers various services
for their self-reliance.
Frow Chart of refugee assistance activities
(from entry to resettlement)
Indochinese refugees
from overseas camps
Family members invited to Convention refugees
Japan under the ODP etc. and their families
Entry to the Center
Orientation
Japanese language education (app. 4 months, 572 hours)
6 months
(up to 180 days)
Guidance for adaptation to Japanese society (about 20 days)
Job referral service
Departure from the Center
Resettlement (getting employed, going to school, etc.)
Residents at the Center live together in the lodging. While they live
at the Center they are provided with living expenses, meals, and
health care by physicians and nurses.
Assistance for Asylum Seekers
Aftercare after leaving the Center
Counseling Services for Daily Life
Assistance for Community Activities
Indochinese refugees and Convention refugees who have a residence
status such as Long Term Resident, and are living in Japan (resettled
refugees) are eligible to attend school or work. However, many encounter
difficulties due to the unfamiliar environment or because of insufficient
Japanese language abilities. The RHQ has counselors at its Kansai
Branch Office and the International Refugee Assistance Center, to give
refugees advice on various problems such as housing, medical care,
education or how to unite with families in Japan, helping them to live a
stable life in Japan. Also, counseling desks are regularly open at the
Yokohama and Atsugi City Offices in Kanagawa Prefecture, Yao City
Office in Osaka Prefecture, and Himeji City Office in Hyogo Prefecture, so
that resettled refugees can have easy access to counseling services.
We assist the community activities of resettled refugees to help
ease the feelings of uncertainty and anxieties they experience in
an unknown culture, and to enable them to be more self-reliant.
These include activities to preserve their home culture and
interactions with local communities. We provide assistance to
help resettled refugees and Japanese deepen their mutual
understanding and facilitate smooth co-existence such as a
Japanese speech forum, so that they can share common
problems and exchange information.
Assistance for Japanese Language Education
Some resettled refugees have difficulty in finding opportunities to learn
Japanese language. We offer assistance with Japanese language
materials developed by the RHQ, and information about Japanese
language classes. We also publish a newspaper, "Konnichiwa" for
resettled refugees as reading materials. We also assist the activities of
local Japanese language volunteer groups, where resettled refugees can
receive Japanese language lessons. In the Kansai Branch and the
International Refugee Assistance Center, Japanese language counselors
provide advice not only to resettled refugees but to volunteer groups or
local schools on Japanese language studies.
Job Referral
Although resettled refugees are permitted to work, it is difficult
for them to find the jobs they desire, due to language difficulties
and other reasons. At the International Refugee Assistance
Center, vocational counselors provide consultations on
employment, and at the Kansai Branch, vocational counselors
work closely with public employment security offices in terms of
referring jobs. After refugees become employed, we try to
maintain close ties with the employers by, for instance, visiting
workplaces, and holding meetings with administrative agencies
and the companies. We hold an "employment promotion month"
every year, to enhance public awareness and cooperation.
Asylum seekers who claim refugee status owing to fear of
persecution if they return to their own countries and who
face hardship in daily life are given assistance with living
costs, medical fees, etc., accommodation at ESFRA
(Emergency Shelter For
Refugee Applicants),
and advice on daily
life.
Coordination of Overseas Refugee Assistance
We carry out fact-finding surveys on assistance for and the
state of refugees overseas.
Through these surveys, we assisted Japanese NGOs have
launched refugee support activities in places such as Eritrea
and Sri Lanka.
NGO Staff and Volunteer Development Support
Residents learn basic Japanese. Classes are organized by ability or
age. They then receive guidance for adaptation to social life,
learning the systems and customs that they need to live in Japan.
Children reach school age attend neighboring primary or
secondary schools.
After completing the training
program, those wishing to do so
may receive recommendations on job
placements from vocational guidance
counselors at free job placement
services office inside the Center.
We undertake projects to support the self-development of
NGO staff and volunteers who practice on-site care for
refugees in this country and overseas.
This includes holding seminars and workshops as well as
meetings to exchange
information aimed at
understanding and
cooperation of people
in the community.