The number of people who have been forced to flee their countries due to conflict or persecution is well above 80 million.

The crisis in Ukraine should lead Japan to reflect on this reality and start exploring ways to accept more refugees.

Twenty Ukrainians who fled the war in their homeland arrived at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on April 5 on a Japanese government jet.

They responded to the government’s offer to transport them to Japan with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who visited Poland as a special envoy to make a firsthand assessment of the growing humanitarian crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

More than 400 Ukrainians have so far traveled to Japan from their war-devastated country, mainly those who have relatives and others here ready to support them.

Four of the 20 who arrived on the government aircraft have no relatives or acquaintances in Japan who can assist them.

It is urgent to take measures to ensure that the evacuees feel safe and comfortable about staying in this country.

The government has granted a three-month “short stay” visa to these Ukrainians and plans to allow them to switch to a “designated activities” visa that allows holders to work for one year in Japan and also renew that visa.

In addition to such legal measures, it is vital to provide a wide range of support to help them start new lives in Japan.

The government needs to work closely with local administrations and nonprofit organizations to help them deal with issues concerning housing, health care and education.

With some companies willing to employ Ukrainian evacuees, the government should try to help them establish a livelihood by fulfilling their wishes concerning job opportunities.

It is almost unprecedented for a Japanese Cabinet member to visit a site where people fled from a conflict and take evacuees to Japan on a government aircraft.

It is a welcome action for emergency humanitarian aid. But the government should explain the reason for taking this special measure and its policy for dealing with refugee crises in the future.

How to protect the lives and rights of people who have fled their countries, not only Ukraine but also those in the Middle East and Asia, has become a serious challenge for the world.

In recent years, more than 6 million Syrians have left their country, which has been plagued by civil war for years. The mass exodus from Syria has created political issues, especially in Europe and the United States.

Japan is widely known for its reluctance to accept refugees.

In 2020, the members of the Group of Seven leading democracies except for Japan accepted several thousand to tens of thousands of refugees. But Tokyo granted refugee status to only 47.

Less than 100 were allowed to stay in Japan that year, including those who were judged to need special humanitarian consideration.

The government receives several thousands of applications for refugee status every year. The Immigration Services Agency says many of them represent false refugee claims.

Strict screenings of applications are necessary, to be sure. But Japan’s stance toward human rights is called into question if it limits its refugee acceptance under procedures that are excessively strict by international standards.

There have also been cases where refugee applicants received rough treatment.

Last year, in two separate cases concerning rejected refugee applications, two high courts ordered the immigration authority to pay compensation to the applicants who were deported immediately after their applications were rejected and thereby denied the opportunity to file a lawsuit against the decision.

The high court rulings even argued that the immigration authority violated the Constitution by depriving the applicants of opportunities to exercise their right of access to the courts.

The way the government has provided support to Ukrainian evacuees is a surprise departure from its traditionally ungenerous attitude toward refugee applicants.

It should not be a temporary political gesture to score diplomatic points.

Japan has been promoting the concept of “human security,” which requires protecting individuals from destitution and fear irrespective of their nationalities, as one of its key foreign policy principles.

More than 40 years since it joined the Refugee Convention, Japan now needs to adopt a consistent refugee policy based on humanitarian principles.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 7