Japan to Facilitate Deportations of Undocumented Foreigners

   Tokyo, May 23 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government will expedite screenings of applications for refugee status to facilitate deportations of "undocumented" foreigners, Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said Friday.
   "We are committed to creating a society in which the people can live feeling at ease together with foreigners, by strictly dealing with foreigners who do not observe rules," Suzuki told a press conference.
   The plan could trigger concerns from the perspective of refugee protection.
   To speed up the refugee screening process, the government will present case types that do not clearly meet the definition of refugee under the U.N. Convention on the Status of Refugees.
   It will also front-load the introduction of a system modeled on the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, to fiscal 2028 from fiscal 2030, to prevent entry to Japan by foreigners with risks of staying illegally.

(2025/05/23-17:55)