## ② Processing of Applications for Refugee Status

The total number of applicants whose application for recognition of refugee status was processed in 2015 was 3,898, an increase of 729 (23.0%) from 2014. The number of applicants who were recognized as refugees was 19 $ (^{*}1) $ , while the number of applicants who were denied recognition of refugee status was 3,411. The number of applicants who withdrew their applications and others was 468.

Further, the immigration administration is 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 definition of refugees specified in the Refugee Convention, etc. For example, if an applicant, who is denied recognition of refugee status, is unable to return to his or her home country due to situational problems in his or her country or has some other special reason necessitating that he or she stay in Japan, special arrangements may be made flexibly on a case-by-case basis, taking the situation of the foreign national into consideration within the Japanese immigration control framework. In 2015, 79 applicants were allowed to stay in Japan (Reference 63).

Reference 63 Changes in the number of foreign nationals protected as refugees etc.

Refugee Status	1978 ~ 2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Recognized as a refugee	577	21	18	6	11	27
Refugees for resettlement	11,346	18	0	18	23	19
Others	1,746	248	112	151	110	79
Total	13,669	287	130	175	144	125

$ ^{*1} $ The number of persons recognized as refugees includes those who were denied recognition as a refugee in the primary examination, but were recognized as a result of the filing of an objection.

(*2) The number of the “Refugees for resettlement” consists of (1) so-called “boat people” who fled from Indo-China countries during the 1970s through to the 1980s and their family/relatives (their legal protection was based on the approval of the Cabinet on April 28, 1978, and June 17, 1980), and (2) accepted Myanmar refugees who had been protected temporarily in Thailand (2010~2014) and Malaysia(2015~) Therefore, the numbers for the “refugees for resettlement” for before 2006 show the people who fall under category (1) while the numbers for “refugees for resettlement” in and after 2010 indicate the people who fall under category (2).

$ ^{*3} $ The number of “Others” includes those who were denied recognition as a refugee in the primary examination but were later found to have enough grounds for being granted special permission to stay in Japan by the Minister of Justice, in accordance with Article 61-2-2 (2) of the Immigration Control Act.

## ③ Implementation of the System for Permission for Provisional Stay

The number of foreign nationals who were granted permission for provisional stay was 83 in 2015, a decline of 28 (25.2%) from 2014.

The number of those who underwent an examination as to whether or not they should be granted permission for provisional stay was 919. The major reasons for decisions not granting permission were as follows $ (^{*2}) $ :

(i) Applicants had applied for recognition of refugee status after the deadline of six months from the date of landing in Japan (in the case of those for whom the grounds for being a refugee had arisen during their stay in Japan, the date such fact became known to them): 468 persons.

(ii) Applicants had already received a deportation order: 440 persons.