Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
Table31 Changes in the number of cases of illegal work by type of work

(People)

Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Job Categories
Total	44,190	33,508	32,364	34,325	43,059
Male	23,949	19,313	18,610	20,274
Female	20,241	14,195	13,754	14,051
Factory worker	9,466	8,413	7,084	7,156	10,440
Male	6,956	6,210	5,181	5,146
Female	2,510	2,203	1,903	2,010
Hostess or entertaining customers	9,415	6,009	5,081	5,057	6,597
Male	359	362	236	184
Female	9,056	5,647	4,845	4,873
Construction worker	7,354	5,330	4,790	5,468	6,228
Male	7,290	5,290	4,757	5,426
Female	64	40	33	42
Cook	2,546	1,939	2,052	2,534	3,592
Male	1,650	1,256	1,296	1,845
Female	896	683	756	689
Waitress or bartender	4,056	2,595	2,653	2,919	3,471
Male	1,561	1,043	1,030	1,235
Female	2,495	1,552	1,623	1,684
Other service job	2,327	1,869	2,007	2,406	2,702
Male	954	705	736	927
Female	1,373	1,164	1,271	1,479
Other	9,026	7,353	8,697	8,785	10,029
Male	5,179	4,447	5,374	5,511
Female	3,847	2,906	3,323	3,274

## 3 Outline of Judgments of Violations

## (1) Receipt and the Findings of Cases of Violation

Under the deportation procedures, after an immigration control officer conducts an investigation of the violation by a foreign national, an immigration inspector examines whether the foreign national (suspect) should be deported. The number of such examinations of violations was 56,018 in 2004. (Table 32)

The number of requests for hearings conducted after examinations of violations has been significantly increasing, reaching 1,022 in 1994, 7,396 in 2000, and 13,969 in 2004. This increase was probably caused by a rise in the number of foreign nationals who voluntarily surrendered themselves to a regional immigration bureau in the hopes of staying in Japan because they had formed relationships such as marriage and cohabitation with Japanese nationals. (Chart 25)
Table32 Changes in the number of cases of receipt and findings of violation examinations by immigration inspectors, hearings by special inquiry officers and decisions of the Minister of Justice (Cases)

Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Division
Violation examination by immigration inspector	Receipt	52,029 (403)	41,357 (449)	42,504 (497)	46,535 (548)	56,018 (596)
Finished	Found not to fall under one of the reasons of deportation	—	2	3	2	4
Issuance of written deportation order	44,015	34,711	33,607	34,855	40,771
Request for hearing	7,396	5,998	8,254	11,003	13,969
Written departure order	—	—	—	—	918
Not finished, others	618	646	640	675	356
Hearing by special inquiry officer	Received	8,091 (670)	6,514 (493)	9,067 (785)	12,092 (1,061)	14,869 (866)
Finished	Error in the findings	—	—	—	—	—
Issuance of written deportation order	38	56	104	102	113
Filing an objection	7,523	5,637	7,872	11,081	14,191
Written departure order	—	—	—	—	—
Not finished, others	530	821	1,091	906	565
Decision of the Minister of Justice	Received	8,160 (699)	6,562 (864)	8,378 (607)	11,738 (628)	14,897 (703)
Finished	Objection with reason	—	7	—	8	—
Objection without reason	7,275	5,916	7,711	11,204	14,412
Written departure order	—	—	—	—	—
Not finished, others	885	639	667	521	485
Request for hearing	Request for hearing Receipt of violation examination (%)	14.2	14.5	19.4	23.6	24.9

* The numbers indicated in ( ) are carry-over cases from a previous year and are included in each of the upper numbers.

Chart25 Changes in the numbers and percentages of requests for a hearing
For the same reason, the number of objections, which a foreign national who is not satisfied with the decision made by the special inquiry officer at the hearing may file with the Minister of Justice, has also been increasing and reached 14,191 in 2004. (Table 32)

According to the statistics by nationality (place of origin), the foreign nationals for whom violation examinations were conducted came from 127 countries and regions (excluding those who were stateless) in 2004, showing a clear trend of multi-nationalization.

There has been an increase in the number of cases in which it is difficult to find an appropriate interpreter or in which the foreign national in question has applied for recognition of refugee status. The Immigration Bureau should therefore handle these cases quickly and carefully in order not to make the foreign national wait in an unstable state for a long period of time. The Immigration Bureau is making efforts to handle such cases carefully and efficiently by compiling a list of interpreters, finding good interpreters as quickly as possible, conducting fact-finding surveys, and making inquiries to related agencies.

## (2) Issuance of a Written Deportation Order

The number of written deportation orders issued in 2004 was 42,074.

According to the statistics of the number of written deportation orders issued in 2004 by grounds for deportation, the most common reason was overstay (29,818), accounting for 70.8% of the total. The proportion of overstay decreased from 80.9% in 1999, while the proportion of illegal entry increased from 17.1% in 2000 to 22.1% in 2004. This increase was considered to be attributable mainly to the continuing influx of illegal entrants by ship or by the use of forged and altered passports. (Table 33)

Table33 Changes in the number of issuance of written deportation orders by grounds for deportation

Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Grounds for Depotation
Total	44,417	35,408	34,455	35,850	42,074
Overstay	35,546	26,145	25,176	25,383	29,802
Illegal entry	7,582	7,719	7,244	8,058	9,296
Illegal landing	650	688	712	707	873
Activity other than permitted	466	567	848	1,168	1,380
Criminal offenses etc.	106	222	399	438	642
Others	67	67	76	96	81

According to the statistics classified by nationality (place of origin) in 2004, the largest number of foreign nationals who were issued written deportation orders came from China (13,834 accounting for 32.9%), followed by Korea (5,708 accounting for 13.6%), the
Philippines (5,314 accounting for 12.6%), Thailand (2,521 accounting for 6.0%), and Indonesia (1,946 accounting for 4.6%). According to the statistics for the period from 2000 to 2004, Korea, which used to rank first, decreased, while China significantly increased and moved into the top spot in 2003. (Chart 26, Table 34)

Table34 Changes in the number of issuance of written deportation orders by nationality (place of origin)

YearNationality(Place of Origin)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Total	44,417	35,408	34,455	35,850	42,074
China	8,610	8,065	8,357	10,936	13,835
Korea	11,910	8,836	8,371	6,320	5,708
Philippines	6,897	3,578	3,435	3,778	5,313
Thailand	3,359	2,552	2,391	2,272	2,521
Indonesia	1,492	1,319	1,315	1,496	1,946
Malaysia	1,235	1,220	1,371	1,652	1,472
Myanmar	953	537	503	770	1,353
Bangladesh	1,037	1,110	858	877	1,157
Sri Lanka	906	748	756	752	991
Viet Nam	147	282	356	429	819
Others	7,871	7,161	6,742	6,568	6,959

$ ^{*} $ “China” dose not include Taiwan, Hong Kong or others.
## (3) Provisional Release

In 2004, the number of foreign nationals detained under written detention orders who were accorded provisional release was 1,180, while the number of foreign nationals detained under written deportation orders who were accorded provisional release was 382, hitting a new record high for these past five years.

This is because the immigration control administration flexibly uses the provisional release system in view of noticeable increases in the length of detention periods due to deportation and other such reasons, and in view of their health conditions and other humanitarian concerns. (Table 35)

Table35 Changes in the number of cases of provisional release permission

Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
By written detention order	6,031	4,782	4,477	4,284	1,180
By written deportation order	171	219	347	262	382

## (4) Special Permission to Stay

In 2004, the number of foreign nationals who received special permission to stay from the Minister of Justice was 13,239, having dramatically increased by 6,309, or about 1.9 times in number, from 6,930 in 2000. The number had significantly risen from less than 500 before 1993. Most of the foreign nationals who received special permission to stay had established close relationships such as marriage with Japanese nationals and had, in fact, settled down in Japan in many respects i.e., the foreign national had a settled, married life with a Japanese national and had not violated any laws or ordinances other than the Immigration Control Act. (Table 36)

Table36 Changes in the number of cases of special permission to stay by grounds for deportation (Cases)

Year Grounds for Deportation	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Total	6,930	5,306	6,995	10,327	13,239
Illegal entry/Illegal landing	1,647	1,369	1,068	1,374	2,188
Overstay	5,116	3,743	5,726	8,743	10,697
Criminal offenses etc.	167	194	201	210	354
## 4 Outline of Deportation of Foreign Nationals

In 2004, the number of foreign nationals deported was 41,926. According to the statistics of deportees classified by nationality (place of origin), the largest number was from China (13,408 accounting for 32.0% of the total), followed by R.O. Korea (5,696 accounting for 13.6%), the Philippines (5,207 accounting for 12.4%), Thailand (2,527 accounting for 6.0%), and Indonesia (2,009 accounting for 4.8%). (Table 37)

Table37 Changes in the number of deportees by nationality (place of origin)

(People)

YearNationality(Place of Origin)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Total	45,145	35,380	33,788	35,911	41,926
China	8,858	7,981	8,290	11,027	13,408
R.O.Korea	12,066	8,881	8,287	6,381	5,696
Philippines	6,998	3,602	3,237	3,780	5,207
Thailand	3,399	2,559	2,309	2,299	2,527
Indonesia	1,468	1,352	1,305	1,567	2,009
Malaysia	1,268	1,266	1,346	1,656	1,519
Myanmar	975	565	482	680	1,333
Bangladesh	1,098	1,144	840	895	1,223
Sri Lanka	930	786	737	745	1,005
Peru	1,353	1,013	872	807	799
Viet Nam	145	277	335	417	799
Others	6,587	5,954	5,748	5,657	6,401

$ ^{*} $ “China” does not include Taiwan, Hong Kong or others.

According to the statistics by measures of deportation, most foreign nationals who had been issued a deportation order were deported at their own expense (“voluntary departure”). The number of foreign nationals who need to be individually deported at national expense has been increasing, rising about three times in number from 38 in 2000 to 119 in 2004. (Table 38)

Table38 Changes in the number of deportees by measure of deportation

(People)

Year of Deportation	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Total	45,145	35,380	33,788	35,911	41,926
Voluntary departure	44,057	33,882	32,068	33,914	40,480
Deportation in accordance with Article 59	789	1,302	1,481	1,642	1,313
Deportation individually at the expense of the government	38	55	76	95	119
Deportation in group at the expense of the government	261	141	163	260	0
Others	—	—	—	—	7
Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons	—	—	—	—	7

$ ^{*1} $ Deportation in groups at the expense of the government includes cases where both the Japanese government and the deportee's homeland government bore the expenses.

$ ^{*} $ 2) The “others” are cases of deportation at the expense of the government of each deportees.
## (1) Deportation at the Expense of the Government

### A. Deportation in Groups at the Expense of the Government

Any Chinese collective stowaways detected at the border in the middle of an attempt to illegally enter Japan in large groups will be detained at Omura Immigration Center, after a criminal disposition. They will be deported as a group according to arrangements made through discussions between the government of Japan and China.

During the period from 2000 through 2003, this type of deportation was conducted 9 times (No. 31 to 39), sending a total of 825 Chinese illegal immigrants back to China in groups by airplane. As the immigration control administration recognized only a small number of collective stowaway cases in 2004, the government did not conduct any group deportations. (Table 39)

Table39 Changes in the number of collective deportations to China

Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Times	2	2	2	3	0
Number of deportees	261	141	163	260	0

### B. Deportation Individually at the Expense of the Government

As foreign nationals violating the Act stay longer and have diversifying lifestyles, an increasing number of foreign nationals who have been issued a deportation order suffer from illness, refuse deportation for various reasons, or remain detained for a long period of time because they cannot afford travel expenses. The number of such foreign nationals was 119 in 2004, an increase of 24 (up 25.3%) from 95 in 2003.

## (2) Deportation at the Expense of the Foreign National (Voluntary Departure)

Among the foreign nationals who were issued a deportation order, 40,480 of them were deported at their own expense in 2004.

Around 95% of the deported foreign nationals are deported at their own expense every year. However, an increasing number of them, who desire to be deported at their own expense, do not have a passport, an air ticket, or enough money for travel costs. Therefore, it may take a considerable amount of time before they are able to obtain a passport and other necessities, and are deported at their own expense.

In order to deport such nationals as quickly as possible, the Immigration Bureau not only carries out deportation procedures but also requests that the foreign nationals to be deported make contact with relevant people in Japan, or in their home countries in order to obtain an air ticket or money for travel costs. For any foreign national who does not have a passport, the Immigration Bureau asks the relevant foreign mission in Japan to
issue a passport for him as quickly as possible. (Table 40)

Table40 Changes in the number of deportees by voluntary departure classified by nationality (place of origin) (People)

YearNationality(Place of Origin)	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Total	44,057	33,882	32,068	33,914	40,480
China	8,442	7,593	7,627	9,931	12,919
R.O.Korea	12,043	8,842	8,216	6,326	5,656
Philippines	6,924	3,498	3,089	3,655	5,101
Thailand	3,268	2,304	2,090	2,159	2,370
Indonesia	1,464	1,238	1,278	1,525	1,989
Malaysia	1,263	1,244	1,335	1,653	1,519
Myanmar	961	489	457	664	1,329
Bangladesh	1,065	1,099	816	875	1,211
Sri Lanka	921	708	718	706	929
Viet Nam	144	275	334	409	795
Others	7,562	6,592	6,108	6,011	6,662

$ ^{*} $ “China” does not include Taiwan, Hong Kong or others.

## (3) Sending Back at the Expense of and on the Responsibility of the Carriers

Any carrier that transports a foreign national must send him back at their own expense and on their own responsibility (the deportation specified in Article 59 of the Act) under certain conditions. The number of foreign nationals deported in this way increased from 789 in 2000 to 1,313 in 2004. (Table 38)
# Chapter 3 Recognition of Refugee Status

Due to the recognition that it is important for Japan to fulfill its obligations in the international community by accepting refugees, Japan became a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1981 (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention") and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1982 (hereinafter referred to as the "Protocol"), and as a result, also established a system for recognition of refugee status. In reality, in the past not many foreign nationals came to Japan seeking refugee status, except for refugees who came from Indonesia during a 10-year period beginning in 1975.

In recent years, however, the number of foreign

Refugee Travel Document

nationals seeking refugee status from Japan has been increasing, as the world is rapidly changing due to regional conflicts occurring around the world and the instability of a number of countries. Today, Japanese people pay more attention to refugee-related issues than before.

The Immigration Bureau, which is in charge of recognition of refugee status, has seen refugees noticeably increase in terms of number, nationality, and complexity of cases since most refugees in recent years have been the victims of complicated circumstances in many parts of the world, as mentioned above. Consequently, the Immigration Bureau has created and further improved its organizational structure and investigation system in order to handle applications for refugee status quickly and appropriately.

## Section 1 — Application for Refugee Status and Findings

## 1 Application for Refugee Status

The total number of applications for refugee status during the period from 1982 through 2004 was 3,544. The most common reason for these applications was political, although applicants gave other reasons as well.
The number of applications hit a record high of 530 in 1982, in which Japan started accepting refugees, and remained in the range of 20 to 70 every year during the period up to 1995. The average number for the period from 1983 through 1995 was about 50. The number dramatically increased to 147 in 1996. This jump was due to an increase in the number of applications that were considered to be using the refugee recognition system improperly in order to work, in fact illegally, until decisions on the applications were made. In 1997, the number rose to 242. Then, the number decreased to 100 plus in 1998, with a significant increase to the 200s and the 300s from 1999, and reached 426 in 2004. (Table 41)

Table4.1 Changes in the number of Convention refugee applicants/findings and protected refugees (Ca

Year Division	1982 ~1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	Total
Applied	1,570	133	260	216	353	250	336	426	3,544
Findings	Recognized	211	16	16	22	26	14	10	15	330
Denied	797	293	177	138	316	211	298	294	2,524
Withdrawn	230	41	16	25	28	39	23	41	443
Total	1,238	350	209	185	370	264	331	776	3,297
Humanitarian permission to stay( $ ^{*1} $ )	30( $ ^{*2} $ )	42	44	36	67	40	16	9	284

(*1) “Humanitarian permission to stay” are cases where rejected applicants were permitted to stay in Japan owing to humanitarian reason.

(*2) The number of humanitarian permission to stay before 1997 is the total number from 1991 to 1997.

According to the statistics by nationality (place of origin), 409 (11.5%) applications, among the above-mentioned 3,544, were comprised of, mostly, up to the year 1985, foreign nationals from three countries, Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia. In recent years, the top countries have included Asian countries such as Myanmar, Turkey, Iran, China, and Pakistan. The number of applicants from African countries has also been increasing. According to the statistics by nationality (place of origin) and year, foreign nationals of 17 countries and regions filed applications in 1982, the year in which the refugee recognition system was established. In 1992, foreign nationals of 11 countries and regions filed applications. The nationalities of applicants have been markedly diverse in recent years, and in 2004, foreign nationals of 36 countries and regions filed applications.

According to the statistics of the total number of 426 applicants for refugee status in 2004, the largest number of applications was made by nationals of Myanmar (138), followed by Turkey (131), and Bangladesh (33). These three nations represented about 71% of the total.
## 2 Findings of Applications for Refugee Status

During the period from 1982 through 2004, the number of applicants who were recognized as refugees was 330, while the number of applicants who were not recognized as such was 2,524. The number of those who withdrew their applications was 443. The proportion of those recognized as refugees to the total number of applicants (the number of those recognized as refugees to the sum of the number of those recognized as refugees and those not recognized as such) was 11.6%. In 2004, 15 applicants were recognized as refugees.

Further, the immigration administration should be allowed to make exceptional arrangements within its authority for applicants who have special extenuating circumstances, even if they have not been recognized as refugees who fall under the definitions of refugees specified in the Convention and the Protocol. For example, if an applicant, who is denied recognition of refugee status, is unable to return to his home country due to situational problems in his country or has some other special reason requiring that he stay in Japan, special arrangements may be made flexibly for him on a case-by-case basis, taking the situation into consideration within the Japanese immigration control framework. The total number of applicants who were allowed to stay in Japan as a result of such special arrangements was 284. In 2004, the number was 9. (Table 41)

Since becoming a signatory to the Refugee Convention, the Immigration Bureau has effectively granted status of residence to 21.5% of the overall applicants for refugee status. This percentage represents “the sum of the recognized refugees and the foreign nationals with the status of residence permitted for humanitarian perspectives” against “the sum of the recognized refugees and the rejected refugee status applications”.

## Section 2 — Filing of Objections

## 1 Filing of Objections

The total number of objections filed by applicants who were denied refugee status was 1,679 during the period from 1982, the year in which the refugee recognition system was established, through to 2004. In 2004, the number was 209.(Table 42)
Table42 Changes in the number of filings of objections and decisions of the Minister of Justice

Year Division	1982 ~1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	Total
Not recognized as a refugee	717	80	293	177	138	316	211	298	294	2,524
Filing of objection	424	41	159	158	61	177	224	226	209	1,679
Decision	With reason	1	—	1	3	—	2	—	4	6	17
Without reason	260	20	46	113	142	95	232	200	155	1,263
Withdrawn	116	25	16	24	6	18	34	15	23	277

(*) There may be cases where the number of “filing of objections” is more than the number of not recognized as a refugee as in 2002, owing to cases where foreign nationals file objections in the following year after being denied refugee status.

## 2 Findings of Objections

Among the objections filed by applicants who failed to obtain refugee status, 1,557 of them were handled during the period from 1982 through 2004. According to the statistics, 17 objections were considered to be with reasonable grounds and were granted refugee status. However, 1,263 objections were found to be without reasonable grounds and the remaining 227 objections were withdrawn for reasons such as the departure of the foreign national who had filed the objection. In 2004, the number of objections that were considered to be with reasonable grounds was 6, without reasonable grounds 155, and withdrawn 23. (Table 42)

## Section 3 — Landing Permission for Temporary Refuge

The total number of landing permission granted for temporary refuge to Vietnamese boat people came to 5,668 during the period from 1982 through 2004. Other than applicants from Viet Nam, 104 foreign nationals filed applications, of which 35 were granted landing permission, 66 were denied, and three were withdrawn.

According to the statistics during the period from 2000 through 2004, no applications were made by Vietnamese boat people. A total of 29 foreign nationals filed applications during the five-year period, of which 1 was granted landing permission in 2001 and 6 in 2002. 2004 saw no applicants. (Table 43)