Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
Kanji Character Names in the Residence Cards and Other Certificates (Ministry of Justice Public Notice No. 582 of 2011), the characters were specified as within the scope of seiji characters $ (^{*1}) $ , while simplified characters (referring to Chinese simplified letters and Taiwanese traditional letters which do not match the seiji characters) may be used by replacing them with characters within the range of seiji characters.

Therefore, the Immigration Bureau introduced the Immigration Bureau Seiji Search System, which enables a simple search of kanji names given in the residence card, etc. based on the character codes of simplified characters on July 1, 2013, and made it available for use on the Immigration Bureau's website (http://lapse-immi.moj.go.jp: 50122/).

## (5) Inquiry into the Facts

The Minister of Justice shall organize information relating to mid to long-term residents acquired in accordance with the provisions of the Immigration Control Act and other laws and shall keep the contents of the information accurate and up-to-date in order to continuously keep track of the family relationships, residence-related matters and status of activities of the mid to long-term residents, under the residency management system of mid to long-term residents. Therefore, the Minister of Justice may, when necessary to continuously keep track of information relating to mid to long-term residents, have his or her officers $ (^{*2}) $ conduct an inquiry into the facts (Article 19-19 of the Immigration Control Act).

The inquiry into the facts provided for in Article 19-19 of the Immigration Control Act may be exercised within the extent necessary for the Minister of Justice to be able to accurately keep track of the information necessary for the residency management of mid to long-term residents while bearing in mind the demands for protection of the personal information of mid to long-term residents such as restricting the scope of the investigation to the items of notification.

In addition, since inquiry into the facts lead to the taking of effective countermeasures against imposter residents such as highlighting imposter residents through investigations which utilize the information in the notifications made by both the mid to long-term residents and their organizations of affiliation as well as the information in the notifications on the situation of the employment of foreign nationals provided by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and which crosscheck and analyze this information, the Immigration Bureau works on proactively implementing inquiry into the facts.

### 2. The System of Special Permanent Residents

Foreign nationals who have continued to reside in Japan since on or before September 2, 1945 having lost their Japanese nationality pursuant to the Treaty of Peace with Japan and their descendants who were born in Japan and have continued to reside in Japan are permitted to
reside permanently in Japan as special permanent residents pursuant to the Special Act on Immigration Control, and special measures of the Immigration Control Act are provided for the valid period of the re-entry permission and grounds for deportation and others.

## (1) Special Permanent Resident Certificate

The special permanent resident certificate is issued by the Minister of Justice as a certificate to prove the foreign national's legal status as a special permanent resident, and the details to be described are restricted to the required minimum of the name, date of birth, gender, nationality/region, place of residence, number of the special permanent resident certificate, date of issuance and the expiration date of the period of validity (a facial photo will be given in the case of foreign nationals who are 16 years of age or above). In addition, in order to prevent forgery, an IC chip on which all or some of the matters described in the certificate are recorded is embedded in the special permanent resident certificate in order to prevent forgery (Article 8 of the Special Act on Immigration Control).

Special Permanent Resident Certificate

Front

Back

## (2) Notifications and Applications Relating to Special Permanent Resident Certificates

### A. Notifications on the Place of Residence $ (*) $

If a special permanent resident who has been issued with a special permanent resident certificate which does not give the place of residence changes his or her place of residence, he or she is required to notify the Minister of Justice of the place of residence upon submitting his or her special permanent resident certificate to the counter of the office of municipality with jurisdiction over the place of residence (if he or she has changed the place of the residence, the new place of residence) within 14 days of the date of establishing the new place of residence (Article 10 of the Special Act on Immigration Control).
Moreover, if the special permanent resident wishes to exchange the special permanent resident certificate, he or she may submit an application for reissuance even if the special permanent resident certificate has not been damaged or otherwise soiled. The payment of a fee of 1,300 yen is required, in this case, for issuance of the special permanent resident certificate (Article 14 of the Special Act on Immigration Control).

### 3. Information Coordination Between the Ministry of Justice and the Municipalities

On July 9, 2012, the Alien Registration Act was abolished and, at the same time, the Act for Partial Amendment (Act No. 77 of 2009) of the Residential Basic Book Act (Act No. 81 of 1967; hereinafter referred to as "Residential Basic Book Act") entered into force. Correspondingly, the Residential Basic Book Act came to be applied to foreign residents, and residence certificates are to be prepared for the foreign residents in the same manner as for Japanese residents by the office of municipality with jurisdiction over the residence of the foreign resident.

Through this amendment, the information which the Minister of Justice keeps track of that should be shared with the municipalities shall be shared through information coordination using a dedicated terminal between the Ministry of Justice and the municipalities.

Specifically, if a change arises or an error comes to light in the prescribed items such as the matters of identification or status of residence with regard to a foreign resident, the Ministry of Justice notifies the mayor of the municipality which is keeping the Residential Basic Books in which the foreign resident is registered to such effect without delay, and if an entry, deletion or revision of a described matter is made in the residential certificate pertaining to the foreign resident, the municipality immediately notifies the Minister of Justice to such effect.

Through such information coordination between the Ministry of Justice and the municipalities, the Ministry of Justice continuously keeps track of the information necessary for fair residence management and ensures the accuracy of the Residential Basic Books kept by the municipalities (Reference 74).
Reference 74 Information Coordination between the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the Municipalities

## Section 5 Deportation Procedures for Foreign Nationals

In immigration control administration, it is necessary to achieve a balance so as to promote the smooth acceptance of foreign nationals on the one hand, and to maintain security and order in Japanese society by removing unwelcome foreign nationals from Japan on the other.

The deportation procedures for foreign nationals constitute a powerful administrative action where the foreign national is deported even if deportation is against the foreign national’s will. In international customary law, deportation is left to the discretion of the State. In Japan, the grounds for deportation and the deportation procedures are provided for in the Immigration Control Act and deportation is implemented on the basis of these provisions.

Deportation procedures begin with an immigration control officer conducting an investigation, and is composed of three steps: namely, an examination by an immigration inspector, a hearing by a special inquiry officer, and a decision rendered by the Minister of Justice for the objection filed by the foreign national in order to ensure that the foreign national who is undergoing the deportation procedures will be given ample opportunity to contest the facts of the case or to assert his or her side as to why he or she should be permitted to stay, and to ensure that a decision is made after a careful examination of the facts (Reference 75).
### 1. Investigation into Violations by an Immigration Control Officer

An investigation into the violation by an immigration control officer is the first step in the deportation procedures for foreign nationals. As stipulated in Article 27 of the Immigration Control Act, an immigration control officer will conduct an investigation into the violation of a foreign national who is thought to come under one of the grounds for deportation stipulated in each item of Article 24 of the Act (hereinafter referred to as “suspect”). If the immigration control officer determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that the suspect falls under one of the grounds, he or she may detain the suspect in accordance with a written detention order issued by a supervising immigration inspector $ (*) $ following which the suspect will be handed over to an immigration inspector (Article 39 and Article 44 of the Immigration Control Act).

### 2. Examination of Violations by an Immigration Inspector/Hearing by a Special Inquiry Officer

An immigration inspector, on receiving the delivery of the suspect and the case, examines whether the case falls under one of the grounds for deportation (examination of the violations provided for in Article 45, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act). If the immigration inspector finds that the foreign national falls under one of the grounds for deportation and the suspect objects to the findings by the immigration inspector, the suspect may request a hearing by a special inquiry officer (Article 48, paragraph (1) of the Act). If the suspect is dissatisfied with the findings of the special inquiry officer, he or she may file an objection with the Minister of Justice (Article 49, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act).

### 3. Determinations by the Minister of Justice

The Minister of Justice makes a decision as to whether or not the objection is with reasonable grounds after receiving it (Article 49, paragraph (3) of the Immigration Control Act).

### 4. Grant or Denial of Permission for Residence

## (1) Denial of Permission for Residence (Deportation)

As the result of the procedures from examination of the violation to the final decision of the Minister of Justice (violation adjudication), a supervising immigration inspector will issue a written deportation order in case below:

(i) Where the immigration inspector found that the foreign national had fallen under one of the grounds for deportation, and the foreign national has submitted to the findings (Article 45, paragraph (1) and Article 47, paragraph (5) of the Immigration Control Act).
(ii) Where a foreign national, who was found to have fallen under one of the grounds for deportation, objected to the findings and requested a hearing by a special inquiry officer and, as a result of the hearing, the special inquiry officer found that there was no error in the findings, and the foreign national submitted to the findings (Article 48, paragraphs (1) and (9) of the Immigration Control Act).

(iii) Where a foreign national who objected to the results of the hearing, filed an objection with the Minister of Justice and, as a result, received a notice of the Minister’s decision that the objection was without reason, and whom the Minister of Justice does not find grounds to grant special permission to stay (Article 49, paragraphs (1) and (6) of the Immigration Control Act).

In the violation adjudication procedures, if a foreign national is found not to fall under one of the grounds for deportation, the foreign national will be released immediately. And if a foreign national is found to fall under one of the grounds for deportation but satisfies the requirements for a departure order, the foreign national will be released immediately after the foreign national has been ordered to depart from Japan.

## (2) Special Cases of Determinations by the Minister of Justice (Special Permission to Stay in Japan)

The Minister of Justice may, even if he or she finds that the objection is without reason, grant the foreign national special permission to stay in Japan if the foreign national has obtained permission for permanent residence, was once a Japanese national, entered Japan under the control of another person due to human trafficking or when the Minister of Justice finds grounds to grant special permission to stay (“Special Permission to Stay” as provided for in Article 50, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act).

### 5. Departure Order System

The departure order system is a system under which a foreign national in violation of the Immigration Control Act who has illegally stayed beyond the authorized period of stay $ (*) $ may be deported from Japan through simplified procedures without being physically detained, provided that he or she satisfies certain requirements; and moreover, the period of denial of entry of a foreign national who has been deported from Japan under the departure order is one year.

A foreign national who has stayed in Japan beyond the authorized period of stay and who also satisfies all of the following requirements may be ordered to depart from Japan (Article 24-3 of the Immigration Control Act):

(i) The foreign national has surrendered at the immigration office voluntarily

(ii) The foreign national does not fall under any of the grounds for deportation other than overstaying the authorized period of stay.

(iii) The foreign national has not been sentenced to imprisonment with or without work on the charge of theft or other prescribed crimes after entering Japan.

(iv) The foreign national has neither past record of deportation, nor that of departure by a departure order.
(v) The foreign national is expected to depart from Japan immediately.

## Section 6 Refugee Recognition Procedures

### 1. Signing of the Refugee Convention

Japan accessed the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (“Refugee Convention”) on October 3, 1981 and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (“Protocol”) on January 1, 1982, and accordingly established the system required for the refugee recognition procedures.

The Refugee Convention and the Protocol provide for the definition of refugees, and stipulate the rights and protection to be granted to refugees by the contracting countries.

### 2. Refugee Recognition Procedures (Reference 76)

## (1) Definitions

Under the Japanese refugee recognition procedures, a “refugee” refers to a refugee as defined in Article 1 of the Refugee Convention or in Article 1 of the Protocol (Article 2, item (iii)–2 of the Immigration Control Act). Generally, a refugee is defined as a person who is outside the country of his or her nationality owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country.

## (2) Permission for Provisional Stay

When a person without a status of residence such as a foreign national who has illegally stayed beyond the authorized period of stay applies for refugee recognition for the purpose of stabilizing his or her legal status, he or she is permitted to provisionally stay in Japan if he or she meets certain requirements (Article 61-2-4, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act), and the deportation procedures are suspended during the period of the permission for provisional stay (Article 61-2-6, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act).

The period of provisional stay is, in principle, six months (Article 56-2, paragraph (2) of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act) and, if an application for extension is filed prior to the expiration of the period of the provisional stay, that period will be extended (Article 61-2-4, paragraph (4) of the Immigration Control Act). However, various conditions will be imposed on the permission for provisional stay, such as restrictions on the domicile and scope of activity and a ban on working (Article 61-2-4, paragraph (3) of the Immigration Control Act and Article 56-2, paragraph (3) of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Immigration Control Act).

If a foreign national without a status of residence is not permitted to provisionally stay in Japan, the procedures for recognition of refugee status and the procedures for deportation will be taken in tandem. However, deportation will be suspended while the application for recognition of refugee status is being processed (Article 61-2-6, paragraph (3) of the Immigration Control Act).
## (3) Inquiry into the Facts

It is the responsibility of the applicant to prove that he or she is a refugee (Article 61-2, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act). However, the fact that it is usually difficult for an applicant for refugee status to prove his or her case must be taken into account. Therefore, when an accurate recognition of refugee status is not possible with only the data furnished by the applicant, a refugee inquirer will investigate the case (Article 61-2-14 of the Immigration Control Act).

## (4) Recognition of Refugee Status by the Minister of Justice and Effects of Refugee Status

When a foreign national has been recognized as a refugee, the Minister of Justice will issue a certificate of refugee status to the foreign national concerned. If the foreign national is denied recognition of refugee status, the foreign national will be notified in writing with the reason attached (Article 61-2, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act).

In cases where a foreign national, who has been recognized as a refugee, is a foreign national who does not have a status of residence, if he or she meets certain requirements such as having filed an application for refugee recognition within six months of landing in Japan, such foreign national shall uniformly be granted the status of residence of "Long-Term Resident" (Article 61-2-2, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act). Even if the foreign national does not satisfy the requirements, the Minister of Justice may grant special permission to stay if there are any grounds to grant special permission to stay (Article 61-2-2, paragraph (2) of the Immigration Control Act).

A foreign national who has been recognized as a refugee may receive a refugee travel document as one of the effects under the Immigration Control Act (Article 61-2-12 of the Immigration Control Act), and some of the requirements to obtain permission for permanent residence will be eased (Article 61-2-11 of the Immigration Control Act).

### 3. Appeal $ ^{(*)} $

In cases where a foreign national has been denied recognition of refugee status or a foreign national has become subject to revocation of recognition of refugee status and is not satisfied with such disposition or cases where a foreign national has filed an application for refugee recognition and no action has been taken for recognition or denial of recognition despite the passing of a considerable amount of time, a foreign national may request the Minister of Justice for an administrative review (Article 61-2-9, paragraph (1) of the Immigration Control Act). When making a determination on the request for an administrative review, the Minister of Justice shall consult with refugee examination counselors who have been appointed from persons who have an academic background in law or international affairs, etc. (paragraph (3) of the same Article).

Moreover, objections to dispositions denying recognition of refugee status and dispositions on revoking recognition of refugee status made up to March 31, 2016 shall be processed under the procedures for objections.
Reference 76 Patterns and procedures for application for recognition of refugee status

Requirements of permission for provisional stay

(1) There is no probable cause to suspect that the applicant falls under any of the reasons for deportation.

(2) The applicant has applied for permission within six months from the date of landing in Japan (if any event that makes a foreign resident a refugee occurs during stay in Japan, the date when the resident knows the fact).

(3) The applicant came to Japan directly from a region where there is a fear of persecution.

(4) The applicant has never been sentenced to imprisonment with or without work for a certain criminal offense under the criminal law, etc. after entering Japan.

(5) A deportation order has not been issued against the applicant.

(6) There is no probable cause to suspect that the applicant may flee from the country.
# Data Section 2 Organizational Expansion and Staff Enhancement

Owing to significant changes in the circumstances affecting immigration control in recent years, in response to an increase in the quantity and in the complexity of immigration duties, measures have been taken to improve and expand the organization and staff for immigration control.

At the end of FY 2016, immigration control administration work was carried out by 4,410 officials at the Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice and other immigration control offices. Due to a wide range of challenges in immigration control, further improvement and expansion of the organization and staff are still necessary.

## Section 1 Organizations

### 1. Outline of the Immigration Control Organization

The organization that is responsible for immigration control duties is the Immigration Bureau, which is designated as an internal bureau of the Ministry of Justice. There are eight regional blocks, each of which has a regional immigration bureau as a local branch office of the Ministry of Justice. Each regional immigration bureau manages the district immigration offices and branch offices (including branch offices within the district immigration offices) under its jurisdiction. The Ministry of Justice also maintains immigration centers as detention facilities. The organization as a whole performs various duties associated with immigration control such as immigration examinations, residence examinations, deportation procedures, and refugee recognition procedures in accordance with relevant laws and ordinances.

The Immigration Bureau, regional immigration bureaus, district immigration offices, branch offices, and immigration centers are collectively referred to as the “immigration control offices” (References 77 and 78).
Reference 78 Responsibilities of the Immigration Bureau, Ministry of Justice

(*) Other than the positions mentioned above, one Assistant Deputy Vice-Minister of Justice and attorneys (legal specialists) are assigned to the Immigration Bureau.