March 9, 2023

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Motomura Nobuko at a Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee meeting on March 8 highlighted the need to establish a system in which the courts will determine whether to place foreigners under the custody of immigration authorities.

Currently, the Immigration Bureau decides on foreigners' confinement in immigration detention centers.

Motomura pointed out that the proposed revision of the Immigration Control Act may lead to an increase in serious human rights abuses and demanded the withdrawal of the revision bill.

Motomura said that many asylum seekers worry that the revised law may allow Japan to issue more deportation orders and may resultantly increase the number of deaths or violence against returnees in their home countries. She added, "Abiding by Article 9 Paragraph 4 of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the courts, not the immigration authorities, should examine the necessity of internment in immigration detention centers."