難民支援協会 / Japan Association for Refugees

Groups involved in the Refugee Aid Emergency Campaign:
Amnesty International Japan (AIJ)
Catholic Tokyo International Center (CTIC)
Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees (JLNR)
Support 21, Social Welfare Foundation
International Social Service Japan (ISSJ)
Japan Evangelical Lutheran Association (JELA)
Japan Association for Refugees (JAR)

* This campaing had finished. But the situation surroundings refugees is still severe. Please support us and refugees continuously--> Winter Donation Campaign.

The number of refugee applicants in Japan has increased ten-fold in the past 10 years. Despite this increase, the budget of "Financial Assistance for Refugees", the only welfare fund that refugee applicants are eligible to receive, is not enough to cope with the increased demand. Further, the government has decided to halve the number of recipients of the assistance. Estimates show that every month, the assistance for at least 100 refugee applicants will be stopped.

We are already receiving cries of help from refugees. "I have been evicted as I cannot afford to pay the rent"; "I have no food to eat"; "I have a child but can't find any means to make a living."

Currently, the refugee determination process takes at least two years on average, and during this time most refugees are not allowed to work, not allowed to enroll in the National Health Insurance program, and are ineligible to receive any welfare benefits.

The organizations launched on this campaign are collectively negotiating with the Government and related parties to secure a sufficient budget for Refugee Protection Fees/Benefit (the assistance for refugees), so that every person who is in need of help can receive it, and calling for building a legal system that ensures that refugee applicants can live at the subsistent level. However, these requests are estimated to take a long time to be realised.

Until then, we would like to kindly ask for your donations to aid those who have immediate financial needs. Refugee applicants have fled from their own country to seek asylum in Japan, but are again facing tremendous difficulties.

We want to be a bastion of support for refugees. We highly appreciate your support for refugees to secure a minimum standard of living. Thank you for your cooperation.