By TAKUYA ASAKURA/ Staff Writer   Foreign nationals seeking refugee status in Japan and those providing support to them are raising questions about the Japanese government’s preferential treatment toward Ukrainians who fled here from Russia’s invasion of their homeland.   The showering of support and attention they have received from private companies, civic groups and various levels of government has….Read more

TOKYO — An Israeli legislator and Israel’s ambassador to Japan presented a letter of appreciation on May 22 to a 91-year-old Japanese woman, whose father saved the lives of many Jewish refugees during World War II without regard for the dangers he faced.   Teruko Kotsuji, the second daughter of Setsuzo Kotsuji, a scholar of Hebrew culture, was presented with….Read more

Tokyo Shimbun wrote on Thursday evening that the National Police Agency (NPA) circulated an advisory to prefectural police departments across the country last December instructing police officers to avoid questioning people on the street based on their physical features. “Outward appearances, such as facial features, hairstyle, skin color, or clothing, must not be the only criterion when identifying subjects for….Read more

A Vietnamese technical intern who endured two years of physical abuse while working at an Okayama-based construction company reached a settlement with his former bosses as well as the supervising organization that arranged the placement.   The 41-year-old man eventually found refuge with Fukuyama Union Tanpopo, a labor union based in Hiroshima Prefecture.   Union officials said a settlement was….Read more

Tuesday’s Okinawa Times wrote that Catherine Jane Fisher, who was sexually assaulted by a U.S. service member in Kanagawa Prefecture in 2002, visited Okinawa Governor Tamaki on Monday. The paper wrote that since becoming a victim of rape, the Australian woman has been calling on the GOJ to seek to revise the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement. Fisher reiterated her….Read more

  The more than two years of the new coronavirus pandemic have brought to light many contradictions and problems in this nation.   One is the inadequate protection of the human rights of foreign residents in Japan. Foreign residents are members of our society and play vital roles in our daily lives and the nation’s economy.   Despite their importance….Read more

The Japanese government has submitted to U.S. authorities an opinion statement requesting the U.S. government to clarify the operational guidelines for the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, sources informed Kanagawa Shimbun on April 30. The law will come into force in the U.S. in June. The law is aimed at banning in principle the import of goods from China’s Xinjiang….Read more

Sunday’s Ryukyu Shimpo ran a Kyodo interview with Ambassador Emanuel in which he said that as the world faces many challenges such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and food shortages, it is also important to pay attention to issues near at hand such as the protection of the human rights of LGBTQ people. The Ambassador gave the interview ahead of….Read more