Photo/Illutration The Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The U.N. Human Rights Committee expressed concerns about the treatment of foreign nationals detained at immigration facilities and called on Japan to take steps to improve conditions.

The panel released its findings on Nov. 3 with regard to the extent to which Japan was complying with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

It noted that three deaths occurred at immigration facilities between 2017 and 2021 and called on Japan to “refrain from imposing prolonged solitary confinement and take all appropriate measures to ensure immigrants are not mistreated.”

The findings referred to “the well-being of people deprived of their liberty, including in immigration detention facilities,” and said Japan should “ensure that anyone arrested or detained enjoys all fundamental legal safeguards, including access to counsel, family contact, and adequate medical care.”

The report also raised concerns about children being placed in facilities without going through judicial procedures and called on Japan “to establish clear criteria for the removal of a child, ensuring it is a last resort.”

The report also called for the establishment of an independent human rights institution that met international standards.

But at his Nov. 4 news conference, Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi stopped short of endorsing the establishment of such an agency, only saying, “At the present time, we want to implement more detailed measures based on existing laws.”

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