Photo/Illutration The Justice Ministry building that houses the Immigration Services Agency in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Immigration Services Agency on March 5 released guidelines on determining when to grant special permission to stay in Japan for asylum seekers and other undocumented foreign nationals.

Those who have developed close relations with their local communities or who have children growing up in Japan will be seen in a more positive light for the special permission, according to the guidelines.

But sneaking into the country and remaining unauthorized over the long term will be considered “negative factors,” the agency said.

The justice minister has the authority to give the special permission based on an individual’s circumstances and other reasons.

The new guidelines were created before the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law takes effect by June 15.

The revisions, passed in June last year, allow authorities to deport those seeking refugee status while their applications are pending. But the asylum seekers can inform authorities of their desire to stay in Japan and apply for the special permission.

According to the guidelines, family relations could be a crucial factor in determining whether people can remain in the country.

The chances of gaining the permission improve if there is a need to protect the interests of children living with their families, particularly those who have been educated under the Japanese system for a long time. These positive factors could help families even if all their members are undocumented.

Undocumented parents can also help their cause by integrating into their local communities through activities at schools, residents’ associations and other groups.

Such assimilation could offset the negative factor of remaining undocumented in Japan for longer periods, which is seen as a greater infringement of the immigration control law.

How the applicants entered Japan will also be taken into consideration.

Refugees from Indochina since the 1970s and family members of Japanese nationals who remained in China after World War II would be seen in a much more positive light than those who smuggled themselves into the country or used forged passports.

In Diet deliberations over the revised law last year, then Justice Minister Ken Saito said the government plans to grant special permission to children who were born in Japan and have studied in elementary, junior high and high schools.

However, he explained that permission under these conditions would be a one-time exception and separate from the new guidelines.

Groups supporting immigrants and people fleeing persecution in their home countries have raised concerns that the longer unauthorized stays have been specified as a negative factor.

Although the guidelines state that close relations with local communities could counter that negative factor, Atsuko Matsuura, from the Catholic organization in Osaka, Sinapis, said assimilation is often difficult.

“Some refugees who truly feel in danger have avoided engaging with society, even in Japan,” she said.

(This article was written by Kazumichi Kubota and Takuya Asakura.)

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