Photo/Illutration Lawyers of a citizens' group talk to immigration detainees on the phone in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on May 17. (Chihiro Ara)

Detainees at several immigration facilities across Japan said they are worried about contracting the coronavirus from their roommates and are desperately seeking temporary release during the pandemic, according to an advocacy group.

Detainees said they are worried about their Japanese families, who can no longer visit them.

About 30 detainees in Japan contacted the group Provisional Release Association in Japan (PRAJ) to complain they have been restricted from meeting people outside the facilities due to the novel coronavirus under new measures aimed at curbing the spread. They also said they cannot navigate the confusing bureaucratic system. 

PRAJ provides support for foreigners detained at Immigration Services Agency of Japan facilities because they overstayed their visas or for other reasons, and is now calling on the government to address issues related to the temporary release process.

The group hosted a telephone hotline for immigration detainees on May 17. At 9:30 a.m., two dedicated telephones set up at a law firm in Tokyo started to ring. 

Lawyers for the group asked questions such as, “How long have you been detained?” and “What are you worried about?” 

They promptly got an earful.

“I am worried about my wife and children because I can’t meet them due to the restriction caused by the pandemic,” one detainee responded. 

“I share my room with two other detainees and one of them had a fever. But the immigration agency told me nothing,” another said.

“I am horrified at the prospect of becoming infected with the virus from other roommates,” another stated. 

By noon, 29 detainees from 13 countries, including Iran and Nigeria, called from public telephone booths within facilities in various prefectures, including Tokyo, Ibaraki and Osaka.

“We received many messages, so we would like to ask the government to improve the situation,” said PRAJ Secretary-General Mitsuru Miyasako.

The immigration agency announced new guidelines on May 1 that introduced measures to prevent the virus from further spreading and proposed allowing for provisional releases. 

But the guidelines do not reveal the concrete criteria for how the process works, leading many to complain they are stuck in a bureaucratic limbo.

“While people who have just been detained are freed temporarily, people who have been detained for a long time are not,” said an Iranian man in his 50s who has been detained for more than three years.

“I am disappointed,” he added. “What are the criteria to grant a temporary release?”

Related News