Originally, to be recognized as a refugee under the Refugee Convention, it was sufficient to have a well-founded fear of political persecution, and it was enough for a Philippine activist to claim and prove that he was at risk of political persecution under President Duterte.
However, Japan's refugee status requires that the applicant is specifically targeted by the government. This standard is extraordinary even by global standards, and is one of the reasons why the refugee status recognition rate in Japan is extremely low (0.4%).
For this reason, the Immigration Bureau even has the stance of demanding that the applicants for refugee status themselves be specifically targeted by the government.
In addition, they even demand objective evidence that the applicant is being persecuted, even though the situation is such that he is fleeing his own country. In the case of persecution by the police or military through red-tagging (labeling as Communist Party), it is impossible to obtain the police red-tag list.
After the coup d'etat in 2021, the Immigration Bureau began granting residency and employment status to Myanmarese on an emergency evacuation basis.There are many other countries, not only Myanmarese, that are experiencing the same political unrest and persecution. I hope that refugees will be protected in the same way and that Japan will not be disgraceful in the world' s eyes.