(1) Political suffrage and employment as municipal workers for long-term residents
    At present, in addition to South and North Korean, Taiwanese and Chinese residents, who are called old-comers, there are Nikkeijin from Brazil, Peru and elsewhere who have resided and worked for years in Japan.
    When such residents have lawfully resided in Japan without interruption over a certain period of time (5 years, for example), they should be recognized as local residents and granted voting rights in local elections, if they desire. At the same time, the “nationality requirement” for recruitment by municipalities for local public servants should be removed to allow the employment of long-term residents with foreign nationality in all types of jobs. When this is done, from the perspective of rights and responsibilities, they should be transferred from “foreign registration” to “resident registration,” and should have to pay local taxes.

(2) Employment and unemployment issues of foreign workers
    Unemployment is rising among foreign workers in Japan as it is for Japanese, and these jobless workers and their families require care and livelihood support. In addition, vocational capability development for these foreign workers has been inadequate, and there is a need to develop and provide vocational training programs to foreign workers, in particular the large number of Nikkeijin. Further, there has been an increase in repeater migrant workers, for whom receiving consistent education for families becomes much more difficult.

(3) Mutual understanding and cultural exchanges between foreigners and Japanese
    In consideration of the fact that foreigners tend to be isolated in Japanese society, due to cultural differences, cultural exchanges should be promoted to help foreigners understand Japanese culture, and help Japanese deepen their understanding of the languages and customs of foreign residents. On top of this, the lack of language fluency creates apathy toward local communities among foreigners, resulting in troubles in personal relations that lead them to perceive themselves as being isolated and discriminated against. As these unfavorable developments become obstacles to several administrative procedures for immigration control and social welfare programs involving foreigners, programs to teach foreigners Japanese language seem necessary.

(4) Requirements for naturalization
    The requirements for naturalization have been relaxed, but they have not been made completely clear as the decision on naturalization contains an element of overall judgment. The requirements should be further relaxed for foreigners who have lawfully resided in Japan for years and wish to have Japanese nationality, regardless of their nationality, and the criteria for naturalization should be made clear.

(5) Municipalities with local communities of foreign residents
    Even in municipalities that have local communities with many foreign residents, administrative service staff only include a few people fluent in foreign languages, and this lack of adequate language capability in the public services can lead to troubles due to poor communications or a lack of mutual understanding. Although in some municipalities, budgetary restrictions may limit adequate staffing, allowing the hiring of foreigners in public services could help improve communications between foreign residents and Japanese.

(1) Securing housing for foreign workers
    Efforts should be made toward real estate companies and landlords who are reluctant to take on foreign tenants, in order to get their understanding to allow foreigners to lease housing. At the same time, it is necessary to make houses for rent more smoothly available for foreigners by providing information on housing and rental procedures in foreign languages. Foreigners who meet certain requirements can apply for and live in public housing run by municipalities or the Urban Renaissance Agency (former Housing Corporation), but in many cases prospective foreign tenants have difficulty preparing the many documents necessary. Thus, municipalities should develop mechanisms to actively support these foreigners.

(2) Resolving problems between foreign and Japanese residents in local communities with many foreigners
    In some local communities that are home to many foreigners, and in particular when foreigners dwell in public housing, problems sometimes are between foreigners and other community residents, and this has now become a social problem. From a practical standpoint, language barriers make communications difficult, but efforts to promote mutual understanding are necessary.

(1) Social security for foreign workers
    Foreign workers who come from countries that have not concluded comprehensive pension agreements with Japan must in principle join one of the Japanese pension schemes, such as the National Pension Plan and Employees’ Pension Plan. If they do not subscribe to a pension program, they or their families will not be eligible for disability pension or pension for the bereaved if they are unfortunate enough to suffer a disability or die. To be proper members of Japanese society, foreign workers should pay their fair share of taxes and social security contributions as long as they reside in the country, in order to be assured of social security benefits.

(2) “Package subscriptions” to pension programs and health insurance
    As seen in the case of Nikkeijin, foreign workers are residing in Japan for longer periods of time, and social problems may arise if many of them do not qualify for public pensions. Even at present, there are some 100,000 disabled persons in Japan who do not qualify for disability pension. Foreign workers, like Japanese, should subscribe as a package to employees’ or national pension programs and health insurance plans.

(3) Conclusion of the pension transfer agreements
    In Asia, there are countries with no pension programs at all, or that cannot pay benefits because they are poorly funded. Japan should provide know-how on pension schemes for these countries to help them develop stable pension programs, and thus enable Japan to expand its pension transfer agreements.

In order to ensure that no children residing in Japan are excluded from public education due to their nationality or residential status, the government and municipalities should prepare the conditions to receive them and expand support programs to help foreign children overcome language barriers and differences in customs and culture. As compulsory schooling is defined as public education, it should be financed by public funds pursuant to the ideals of the Constitution, Basic Education Law and School Education Law. In helping foreigners gain access to public education, relevant information and supportive orientation must be provided, in languages understandable for foreigners who receive such support.
    Further, Japanese children should be provided with opportunities to have dialogues with foreign children by mingling with them in their communities. This will raise awareness on human rights, allowing symbiosis with other ethnic groups and cultures, and permitting inclusiveness in education, and increase their motivation in learning.

(1) Publicity on the actual working conditions of foreign workers
    Even if they understand the risks of violating their status for authorized employment, foreign workers may choose to perform unauthorized work that would allow them to earn much revenue, in their local currencies, and there are many foreigners who wish to come to Japan to work without knowledge of actual working conditions in Japan. Even if a worker finds a job that falls under lawful employment, it may not fulfill the working conditions that the foreigner expects. Accordingly, appropriate information on the Japanese labour market, including labour-related legal systems, should be disseminated to would-be-immigrants overseas.
    In this connection, the Ministry of Justice has produced PR leaflets in English, Korean and Chinese and delivered these materials to 21 Japanese government establishments in 7 countries and economies abroad, making the leaflets available for foreigners. In addition to helping to expand and strengthen these government efforts, RENGO itself should disseminate such information to national centers overseas.

(2) Talks with the national centers of the labour exporting countries
    Foreign workers, both legal and illegal, from many countries have been working in Japan, while the emigration of workers means an outflow of human resources for the exporting countries. Therefore, it is meaningful for RENGO to talk with the national centers of the sending countries, when necessary, on such issues as human resource development in the sending countries and employment situation and working conditions in Japan.

(3) Provision of information to foreign workers upon their disembarkation to Japan
    Upon their disembarkation to Japan, foreign workers should be provided with information on the contents of protection under Japanese laws, the scope of lawful employment allowed to them, and how to contact a counselor when the need arises. When checking passports, in addition to confirming the nationality and type of authorized employment for the presenting foreigner, the immigration officer should provide relevant information on each type of authorized employment for foreigners in their own languages. This would contribute to reducing problems involving foreign workers.

(1) Amending the current Immigration Act
    The Article 3 (10) of Administrative Procedures Law (APL) exempts the Immigration Act from its provisions. The 2004 amendments to the Immigration Act incorporated a senior counselor system into the refugee screening procedure, as a third-party advisory body. However, appeals against decisions on refugee status must be filed, via the Immigration Bureau, with Minister of Justice — the individual who turned down the refugee status in the first place. The examination of the appeal is made by a unit in the same Ministry of Justice, which led to questions regarding the fairness of the review process.
    In Germany, there is no administrative protesting procedure against decisions of the federal agency making the primary decision on the status of refugees, but refugees wishing to contest the agency’s decision can file a case with a state court of administrative litigation, seeking a ruling to overturn the primary decision (Article 11 of the Asylum Procedure Act). Refugees who disagree with the court ruling are allowed to appeal the case to the high court of administrative litigation, with the permission of the state court.
    Essentially, the Administrative Procedures Law in Japan has the aim to “protect citizens’ rights,” so some argue that it should not be applied to government decisions on refugee status. At any rate, however, improvements in the administrative protesting procedures are required in order to protect the human rights of refugees.

(2) Criteria for recognizing refugee status
    Under Japan’s procedures for granting refugee status, a “well-founded fear of persecution” is an essential requisite. Accordingly, in accordance with the Diet’s supplementary resolution attached to the amendment of the Immigration Act, the current criteria for granting refugee status should be improved to have fair, transparent and convincing contents, and as such the revised criteria should be made public.

(3) Definition of refugees
    Persons displaced due to warfare, natural disaster, poverty or famine do not constitute refugee as defined in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its Protocol, and that they are not recognized as “refugees” under Japan’s screening process. This is because the Japanese government only accepts “Convention refugees” or displaced persons who are judged to fall under the requisites of refugees as defined in the Convention. In practice, displaced persons due to natural disaster or famine are given relief under the international framework of assistance, enabling them to escape from immediate danger, while people displaced due to internal armed conflicts are mostly left out of international rescue efforts. Therefore, persons displaced due to warfare or internal armed conflicts should be accepted as “refugees,” even if they are not directly exposed to an immediate threat.