persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country". (Excerpt from Article 1 A (2)).

In essence, for a foreign national to be recognized as a refugee, the person must satisfy the following criteria:

(1)For reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion;

(2) Well-founded fear of being persecuted.

The grounds for persecution must be one of the five listed under (1) for the foreign national to be considered a refugee. Neither a foreign national who flees his country merely for the purpose of improving his economic status nor a foreign national who flees from starvation or natural calamity can be recognized as a refugee.

Next, the “well-founded fear” in (2) includes both subjective and objective elements. Since “fear” is a psychological state, it is a subjective sensation. It is necessary to verify whether the applicant’s statement is credible when viewed objectively. To this end, information on the situation in the applicant’s country of origin is necessary.

## (b) Permission for Provisional Stay

With the aim of ensuring the stable legal status of illegal foreign residents who have applied for recognition of refugee status, the Minister of Justice shall permit the foreign national to provisionally stay in Japan (Article 61-2-4, Paragraph1) if the applicant has satisfied certain requirements such as, the foreign national filed the application 6 months after the date on which he landed in Japan (or the date on which he became aware of the fact that the circumstances in which he might have become a refugee arose while he was in Japan) and the foreign resident has entered Japan directly from a territory where his life, physical being or freedom was likely to be threatened as defined by the Refugee Convention. The procedures for deportation are suspended while the procedures for recognition of refugee status are being carried out (Article 61-2-6, Paragraph 2).

The period of provisional stay is three months in principle, but if the foreign national files an application to extend the period of provisional stay before the period of provisional stay expires, the Minister of Justice shall permit the extension (Article 61-2-4, Paragraph 4).

The Minister of Justice may impose upon the foreign national with permission for provisional stay restrictions on the place of residence, area of movement and activities (Article 61-2-4, Paragraph 3).

In cases where a foreign national has not been granted permission for provisional stay, the refugee recognition procedures and the deportation procedures shall be carried out concurrently as before the legal amendment. However, the amended Act expressly provides that, even in such cases, the foreign national shall not be deported from Japan during the period of his refugee recognition procedures being carried out (Article 61-2-6, Paragraph 3).

## (c) Investigation for Refugee Recognition and Filing of Objections to the Results

It is the responsibility of the applicant to prove that he is a refugee (Article 61-2, Paragraph 1 of the Act). However, the fact that it is usually difficult for an applicant of refugee status to prove his case must be taken into account. Therefore, when proper recognition of refugee status is not possible with only the data furnished by the applicant, a refugee inquirer will investigate the case (Article 61-2-14 of the Act).

When the foreign national has been recognized as a refugee, the Minister of Justice shall issue a certificate of refugee status to the foreign national concerned in accordance with the procedures provided for by a Ministry of Justice ordinance; and if recognition of refugee status is denied the foreign national shall be notified in writing with the reason attached (Article 61-2-2).

If the foreign national has an objection to one of the reasons, such as denial of recognition of