State ordered to grant Tamil man refugee status

Jul 06, 2018 | News On Japan

Jul 06, 2018 (NHK) - A Japanese court has ordered the government to grant refugee status to a Sri Lankan man who entered Japan 12 years ago after fleeing his country's civil war.

On Thursday, the Tokyo District Court accepted the request for refugee status by the 58-year-old man, who is a minority Tamil.

After arriving in Japan in 2006, he applied to the Justice Ministry for refugee status. He filed a suit when his application was rejected.

The man won the suit in 2011. The ministry did not appeal the ruling, but rejected his application again. He filed a second lawsuit in 2015.

The ministry argued that the situation in Sri Lanka has improved since the civil war ended.

In Thursday's ruling, Presiding Judge Chieko Shimizu noted that even after the civil war, minority Tamils face the risk of detention and torture, if they are suspected of ties to insurgents.

She said the end of the war does not mean the Tamil plaintiff ceases to be a refugee under the UN refugee convention. She revoked the government's decision and ordered it to recognize him as a refugee. Such an order is unusual.

The plaintiff says he is pleased with the ruling, and he wants to contribute to Japanese society.

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