Cabinet approval was given to the introduction of a system of third country resettlement (“Implementation of a Pilot Case for the Acceptance of Refugees through Resettlement to a third country”) on December 16, 2008.

The Cabinet approval and the “Specific Measures for Implementation of a Pilot Case for the Acceptance of Refugees through Resettlement to a third country” (decision of the Liaison and Coordination Council for Refugee Issues on December 19, 2008) prescribed that the relevant ministries and agencies would accept approximately 30 Myanmarese refugees every year from Maela Camp in Thailand, as a pilot case starting from FY 2010 and would support their resettlement through inter-ministry and agency cooperation. It was also stated that the pilot case would, in the future, be reviewed from various angles, and that based on the review, further consideration would be given to a future system of acceptance. In FY 2010, the first group of five families: 27 people in total came to Japan, and in FY 2011, four families: 18 people in total followed. (Although it was decided that 16 refugees from three families would enter Japan in FY 2012, each of them declined prior to entering Japan.)

At the meeting of the Liaison and Coordination Council for Refugee Issues held on March 29, 2012, the following decisions were made: the extension of the pilot case for a further two years; expansion of the applicable camp sites (the addition of Nupo Camp and Umpiem Camp): enhancement of support for resettlement, and the convening of an Advisory Council. At the meeting of the Council held on March 8, 2013, the following decisions were made: expansion of the concept of "family" as a unit for acceptance, and further expansion of applicable camp sites (the addition of Merau-Meramaran Camp and Mae La Oon Camp).

The Immigration Bureau is mainly in charge of the screening procedures for the refugees who are to be accepted, and dispatches immigration officers to the local camps in order to conduct interviews and surveys. In the future, the Immigration Bureau will make further efforts for the smooth acceptance of refugees through resettlement to a third country in cooperation with the related organizations.

## Section 3 ☐ Promotion of Collaboration with NGOs

With regard to refugee-related administration, it is necessary to identify specific points which need to be improved through discussions with individuals involved in the promotion of refugee protection incorporating the standpoint of the private sector and legal experts, and to work to achieve better measures in collaboration with and cooperation from citizens' groups.

Therefore on February 10, 2012, the Immigration Bureau concluded a three-party agreement and exchanged a memorandum on cooperation with the Forum for Refugees Japan, which is a network of NGOs and groups supporting refugees, and the JFBA, agreeing to hold discussions to identify the refugee-related administrative matters that the Immigration Bureau is responsible for which need improving, including procedures for recognizing refugee status, and to exchange information on the provision of housing, with the assistance of refugee support groups, for refugees awaiting the results of their application for recognition of refugee status.

Currently, based on this memorandum, the Immigration Bureau is considering a future ideal direction for specific cooperation.