In late November, about 10 men from central Africa gathered for a meal at the guest rooms in a Christian church in Tokyo.

They were given a haven by the church when they were camping out in a park in Tokyo.

One of the men said, “I can laugh like this now, but my body stinks and I’ve been through awful things.”

The number of people fleeing conflict and persecution and seeking protection in Japan has skyrocketed since the end of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions on entry.

According to a support group’s tally, the number this year exceeded 12,500 in November, surpassing the 10,375 in pre-pandemic 2019. It is likely to be the second highest number on record after the 19,629 logged in 2017.

NO HELP ON ARRIVAL

The central African man came to Japan in early September. He said he had researched the Japan Association for Refugees (JAR), a nonprofit organization based in Tokyo, on the internet before arrival. And he counted on the organization to support him.

But it was a weekend when he entered Japan and the NPO office was closed.

He stayed in a capsule hotel and visited the office later in the week, where he was helped with his application for refugee status and given food.

However, JAR receives a daily stream of refugee applicants. In the limited number of emergency shelters, priority is given to women and those with children.

Soon, the man ran out of money to go to internet cafes and began spending nights in a nearby park.

The man said the park where he was camping out began to attract refugee claimants from the same country, one by one.

They were mainly men in their 20s and 30s, and their occupations in their home country varied from teachers, bankers, information technology technicians and drivers.

Their country has experienced serious conflict and human rights abuses, and many of its citizens have fled to other parts of the country and abroad.

Kojiro Ushio, a member of Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward assembly and the Japanese Communist Party, learned what was going on and offered the men food and blankets.

Ushio said in this park alone, at times, there were about 20 people sleeping on cardboard boxes laid out on the ground.

Police officers came to the park several times after being notified by residents in the area.

The park was lit by streetlights at night, and one police officer told the men to “stay in a dark place where people cannot see.” Some police officers even gave them pastries.

The man said at first he was bothered by mosquitoes. But as the season progressed, the cold began to get to him. On rainy days, he spent the night in the bathroom. He did not shower, remained wearing the same clothes and was disgusted by his own body odor.

“I was desperate. There was no hope,” he recalled.

In November, he and others were placed in the church’s facility and a shelter provided by the Refugee Assistance Headquarters (RHQ), a group that is commissioned by the central government to support refugee applicants.

CLOSE TO THE LIMIT

The number of refugee applicants seeking protection in Japan is increasing rapidly and assistance is not keeping pace.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ quadrennial Global Refugee Forum was held in Geneva from Dec. 13 to 15, which Japan served as co-chair. One of the UNHCR’s goals was to ensure that the burden of refugee problem is shared by all countries.

The Japanese government is responding with a supplementary budget to deal with the large influx, but there is also a string of people camping out in parks.

Even in December, there was no end to the number of refugee claimants who were left adrift in the streets because of the lack of assistance. A private support group rescued a pregnant woman and her husband who had nowhere to go.

The number of refugees and displaced persons in the world has exceeded 100 million. And in recent years, Japan has seen a noticeable increase in the number of refugee applicants from Africa and the Middle East who arrive without any means of support.

In Europe and the United States, visas are difficult to obtain, and there are many people coming to Japan because they “just happened to get a visa.”

If they are deemed as “in need,” the central government will provide then “protection money” that includes 1,600 yen ($11) a day for living expenses through the RHQ.

However, budgets are limited and only a small percentage of people receive benefits, and the decisions to dole them out often take several months, in part, because RHQ is not always ready to respond in time.

Like the man, many refugee applicants rely on private aid groups.

But a JAR representative said it accommodates 30 or so including those with families each day and is “close to its limit.”

The JAR has rented private facilities to provide them shelters and give them lodging fees. But the money is limited because it is dependent on donations.

Lack of adequate support is one of the reasons behind the constant stream of refugee applicants camping out in parks and other places.

The central government included an additional approximately 220 million yen for the daily assistance and other expenses in the supplementary budget approved at the end of November.

Justice Minister Ryuji Koizumi said at a news conference on Dec. 5 that he “is aware” of the situation and “we are now working to enforce the system to ensure that the protection expenses are paid.”

As of September this year, Britain provided public accommodations and living expenses to more than 100,000 refugee applicants.

Germany as of the end of 2021 provided about 400,000 refugee applicants such support. In Japan, on the other hand, only 204 people received RHQ protection money during the last year.