abusing the system of status of residence cannot be overlooked, because such potentially illegal foreign nationals undermine the rule of the Immigration Control Act and are likely to have negative impact on Japanese society. Therefore, the Immigration Bureau is striving to strengthen the detection of those who engage in activities other than those permitted, and reinforce collection and analysis of information.

## ☐ Efforts toward proper treatment of detainees

• In July 2010, the “Immigration Detention Facilities Visiting Committee” consisting of intellectuals from outside the Immigration Bureau was established with the aim of ensuring further transparency in security treatment, and improving and enhancing operations of immigration detention centers, etc.

For detainees detained for a certain period of time after a written deportation order is issued, the Immigration Bureau is to hereafter examine and discuss periodically the necessity and reason for a provisional release of such detainees and flexibly utilize the provisional release while taking individual situations into account to implement further appropriate deportation procedures.

- The Immigration Bureau is to hold a discussion with Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) in September, 2010, on measures to achieve a better state of affairs over issues regarding detainment in immigration control administration. Along with that, as part of the measures, the Immigration Bureau and JFBA agreed to together promote efforts toward legal consultation etc. by lawyers for detainees. The Immigration Bureau and JFBA are hereafter to continuously discuss how to achieve a better state of affairs over issues regarding detainment.

## ☐ Appropriate operation of special permission to stay

• Various measures, including formulation and announcement of the “Guidelines on Special Permission to stay in Japan” and publication of the “Cases where Special Permission to Stay was granted and the Cases where Special Permission to Stay was denied”, have been taken to enhance the transparency and predictability of the special permission to stay. These “Guidelines on Special Permission to Stay in Japan” provides more details concerning matters to be considered in judging whether to grant special permission to stay or not. It also presents the concept for judgment. The guideline, therefore, is to be applied to judge whether to grant special permission to stay or not.

## ☐ Promotion of appropriate and prompt refugee protection

For early stabilization of legal status of people to be recognized as refugees etc. the Immigration Bureau set six months as the standard processing period for protracted examination for application for refugee status in July, 2010, and further to officially announce the average processing (examination) period for application for refugee status quarterly on the website of the Ministry of Justice. There were 612 backlog cases which were not processed even after six months after filing, at the end of June, 2010. But the number of backlog cases drastically decreased down to 35 at the end of March, 2011.

- Based on “Concerning the Implementation of Pilot Case relating to the Acceptance of Refugees by Resettlement to a Third Country” (approved by the Cabinet on December 16, 2008), and the “Detailed Measures for Implementing Pilot Case relating to the Acceptance of Refugees by Resettlement to a Third Country” (Decision by the Liaison and Coordination Conference for Countermeasures for Refugees on December 19, 2008), a program to accept Myanmar refugees staying in the Mera Camp in Thailand and to offer support for resettlement as a pilot case will be launched from FY 2010. 27 Myanmar refugees from five families entered Japan in the first group in FY 2010.