Hunger Strikes on Rise at Immigration Detention Centers

Tokyo, Oct. 1 (Jiji Press)--The number of cases in which foreigners detained in immigration centers in Japan conduct hunger strikes to seek provisional release has been on the rise, the Immigration Services Agency said Tuesday. The agency is struggling to deal with the problem, with one of such detainees having died. As of the end of June, a total of 1,147 foreigners were detained in immigration facilities across Japan after receiving deportation orders for reasons including illegal stays. Roughly 75 pct of them have sought to stay in Japan instead of being deported to their home countries, leading to prolonged detention. Between June and last Wednesday, 198 detainees refused to eat in pursuit of obtaining provisional release, according to the agency. At one point, over 100 detainees nationwide rejected their meals in a single day, after an Iranian man detained at the Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center in the city of Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan was given temporary release in July after conducting a hunger strike. Drastic measures, such as a sweeping review of the detention system, are thought to be necessary, especially after a Nigerian man in his 40s died during a hunger strike in June at the Omura Immigration Center in the city of Omura, Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan. But the immigration agency believes that expanding the scope of detainees eligible for provisional release is difficult in light of security. The number of foreigners arrested during their provisional release between January 2018 and June this year totaled 109, while 332 people have run away and gone missing after being given temporary release. The agency plans to set up an expert group to consider measures regarding the detention and deportation of foreigners. The panel is expected to compile a set of proposals during fiscal 2019, which ends next March. "I want the panel to hold thorough debates on concrete measures, such as possible legal steps," Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai said at a press conference on Tuesday. END