Photo/Illutration Ukrainians who arrived at Narita Airport on a commercial flight from Poland on April 9. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan’s acceptance of 1,000 Ukrainian evacuees to date stands in stark contrast to its reluctance to offer shelter to other foreign nationals fleeing persecution.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on March 2 announced the government’s policy to take in evacuees from Ukraine following Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24.

In April, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi visited Poland for a first-hand look at how the country was helping evacuees from Ukraine and brought 20 Ukrainians to Japan aboard a government aircraft when he returned.

The government has allocated seats on a LOT Polish Airlines’ direct flight to Japan every weekend for Ukrainians hoping to take refuge in Japan.

As of May 18, Japan had accepted 995 Ukrainians, including those who flew to Japan on their own. Five more arrived on May 21.

Of the 1,000 total, 758 were women.

They entered Japan on a 90-day visa, but are eligible to switch to a designated activities visa, which will allow them to work in Japan for a year.

The government also set up a website for Ukrainian evacuees to help them easily find clothes, appliances and furniture as well as interpreters, listing goods and services provided businesses and other organizations.

Ukrainians with no friends or family in Japan are permitted to stay in hotels on a temporary basis with the government footing the tab.

As of May 18, 61 were doing so.

The government has also been working as a liaison between local authorities willing to take in evacuees and Ukrainians seeking to secure housing.

Three families comprising seven Ukrainians decided this month to move to local communities in Tokyo, Kyoto Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture, making them the first batch of evacuees to take advantage of the government service.

The government also provides a lump sum payment of up to 160,000 yen ($1,250) per person upon checking out of a hotel.

After that, each evacuee is entitled to 2,400 yen a day to cover basic living expenses.

However, the government makes a clear distinction by treating Ukrainians as evacuees, not as refugees who face persecution in their home country due to ethnic issues, religion and other reasons.

Japan granted asylum status to only 915 foreign nationals between 1982 and 2021. In addition, 3,289 foreign nationals have been permitted to stay in Japan on humanitarian grounds although their applications for refugee status were denied.

The special treatment accorded to Ukrainians is markedly different from the government’s handling of people from other nations, noted an official with the Japan Association for Refugees (JAR), a nonprofit body that for years has worked to assist evacuees from Africa and the Middle East.

For example, the JAR said an official support program for asylum seekers provides a per diem rate of 1,600 yen as well as 40,000 yen a month per person for a single-bed apartment while the government examines their applications.

But only a fraction of the asylum seekers ends up receiving such support. Moreover, it takes three months on average for the program to kick in, according to the JAR official.

A government official defended the preferential assistance policy for Ukrainians, saying it has received “broad support from the public.” The official labeled the conflict as an unparalleled humanitarian crisis.

“In a nutshell, the government takes into account how the general public views evacuees,” the official said.

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