## Section 2 ◆ Staff

## 1 Immigration Control Staff

In immigration centers and regional immigration bureaus, immigration inspectors and immigration control officers are assigned as staffs who are engaged in immigration control duties. In addition, administrative officers of the Ministry of Justice engage in general administrative duties and technical officers of the Ministry of Justice, including doctors, are also assigned.

Immigration inspectors are responsible

Immigration control staff

for (i) examinations and hearings on landing and deportation, (ii) issuance of written detention orders and written deportation orders, (iii) provisional release, and (iv) investigation of recognition of refugees and (v) inquiry into the facts on application regarding statuses of residence. They are also engaged in examining statuses of residence, etc. as assistants for the Minister of Justice.

Immigration control officers are responsible for (i) investigation of violations concerning entry, landing or residence in Japan, (ii) detention, transportation and deportation of foreign nationals in order to execute written detention orders and written deportation orders, (iii) treatment of detainees in immigration centers and detention facilities and guards of these detention facilities, and (iv) inquiry into the facts for continuous identification of information on mid to long-term residents. They fall under police personnel in terms of the National Public Service Act, while falling under public security service staff in terms of the Act on Remuneration of Officials in the Regular Service, because they are often involved in dangerous tasks.

Immigration control officers are divided into seven ranks (keibikan, keibicho, keibishicho, keibishi, keibishiho, keishucho, and keishu, in order of descending superiority) in order to clarify the chain of command for group operations for detection.

Individual immigration inspectors and immigration control officers perform their duties independently as specialists in immigration control and therefore, the specialist system was introduced. These officials are required to have legal knowledge necessary for their duties as well as a balanced point of view from an international perspective and the ability to interact with foreign nationals flexibly while giving consideration to their diverse cultures, customs and religions and their human rights.

## ② Staff Increase

The number of immigration control staff was 4,145 in FY 2015, increased by about 12% (431) from FY 2010 (3,714), five years ago. During this period, the number of cases handled by immigration control offices remained at a high level, and the immigration control duties have been getting more complicated and difficult due to the necessity of implementing stricter immigration examinations to prevent terrorism and illegal entry, coping with forged or altered documents that have become increasingly more sophisticated, strengthening residence management related to foreign residents after entry, enforcing strengthened detection of illegal foreign residents, some of whom are pointed out to be potential criminals, and implementing measures against foreign residents disguised as legal residents.