After fleeing brutality in their homeland and bouncing around from country to country, an African couple thought they could find solace in Japan.

But soon after their arrival in Tokyo in autumn, they ended up living on the streets of the capital and scrounging for food from waste cans.

“My health got worse and worse, and I almost collapsed many times,” Sarah said, wiping away tears with a cloth. “All I could think about was that I had to survive for the life of the baby I was carrying.”

The process for seeking refugee status in Japan is notorious for prolonged waits and strict checks. But as Sarah, a pregnant woman in her 20s, and her thirtysomething husband, Rashid, learned, the most difficult time could be in the early stages.

Shrinking budgets and a lack of coordination have hindered immediate support programs for refugee applicants. Many of them end up living outdoors, as a result.

BEATEN AND DETAINED

Both Sarah and Rashid said they wanted their real names used in this article to underscore the political persecution being carried out in their home country.

But pseudonyms were used based on recommendations from a U.N. agency.

Rashid explained that he earned his living in Africa by selling daily necessities. He was also an organizer of a demonstration against the country’s regime, and Sarah was involved in the movement.

The government and police officials started issuing threats and warnings to the couple, he said.

Then one day, around 2 a.m., there was a violent banging on their door. They ducked down, but a group of police officers entered after prying open the door with a metal object.

Rashid was severely beaten and taken away, he said.

“This is me,” Rashid said, showing a photo that his friend had secretly taken.

In the photo, Rashid and the other protesters were standing and facing the same direction inside a fence.

Rashid said hundreds of people were crammed into a small space.

“There was nowhere to sit, and we had to stand most of the time,” he said.

In addition to the heat and hunger, a terrible smell filled the air, he said.

He was repeatedly beaten during interrogations, and his captivity lasted more than 10 days.

“I experienced hell. Even after my captivity ended, I was too weak to walk, and my spirit had been crushed,” he recalled in a bitter tone.

Some of his fellow demonstrators did not return alive, he said.

The couple fled the country, and for the next two years, they traveled to neighboring countries and around Southeast Asia, Rashid said.

Then, they heard that Japan was a “country that respects human rights.”

The received permission to stay temporarily in Japan, landed in Tokyo in autumn, and applied for refugee status.

But in Japan, refugee claimants rarely receive immediate public assistance, such as housing and food.

Sarah ended up living in a park in Tokyo for about 10 days. Rashid stayed at the park for about a month.

“My wife was getting weaker and weaker,” he said. “But I didn't know what to do.”

The nights were colder than they had expected, and they couldn’t sleep, he said.

“We had no food, so I rummaged through the trash for a long time, looking for something to eat. It was hard to find anything,” Rashid said.

Critics say the Japanese support and legal system for refugee claimants is very poor compared with those in other countries.

Since 2023, many asylum seekers who cannot receive assistance have had no choice but to live on the streets.

Japan, a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees since 1981, is obligated to protect those who have fled their home countries due to danger to their lives.

However, Japan still has no legislation in place to provide livelihood support to refugee applicants.

Although there is no underlying law, the Foreign Ministry since 1983 has contributed funds from its budget to support refugee applicants in the form of a “protection allowance.”

The allowance is handled by the Refugee Assistance Headquarters, an organization within the Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian People, a Tokyo-based public interest incorporated foundation commissioned by the central government.

In principle, the protection allowance is provided for only four months.

In addition to housing and medical expenses, the allowance offers about 72,000 yen ($475) per month for living expenses for applicants over 12 years old, and half that amount for those under 12 years old.

However, only about 5 percent of refugee applicants a year have received the protection allowance.

Sarah applied for the protection allowance in early October as soon as she arrived in Japan.

An interview with the Refugee Assistance Headquarters was immediately set up.

Sarah said she made their case during the two-hour interview, explaining the suppression of their political movement in Africa, their life on the streets in Japan, and the lack of medical care even though she was pregnant.

She said she asked the organization for minimal support to save their lives.

It took about a month for the organization to respond, she said.

While they were waiting, Rashid met with the Japan Association for Refugees, a certified NPO based in Tokyo that had received an e-mail sent by him.

The association said it could not afford to pay for lodging for the couple, but it covered the cost of Sarah’s stay at an internet cafe.

Rashid continued to live on the streets.

Later, the Tsukuroi Tokyo Fund, a Tokyo-based support group for the needy, and other groups helped the couple with their rent, so they could live together in a one-room apartment.

In early November, when they had managed to survive with money provided by private NPOs, they received a call from the Refugee Assistance Headquarters about their request for the protection allowance.

“We cannot provide support,” an official told Rashid, without giving a reason.

The organization declined repeated requests to comment on the issue.

RISING NUMBER OF APPLICANTS

The number of refugee applicants continues to increase around the world, given the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

The number of refugee applicants has also risen in Japan since the end of entry restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023, 13,823 people applied for refugee status, about 3.6 times the number of the previous year and a level second only to the peak in 2017.

The applicant total has increased by about 7.4 times compared to 2011.

But the budget for the protection allowance decreased by more than 20 percent, from 336 million yen in fiscal 2011 to 259 million yen in fiscal 2024.

“There is a conflict with other budgets, and it’s hard to explain,” a Foreign Ministry official said about the budget decrease.

Yasuzo Kitamura, 73, a professor emeritus at Chuo University who is an expert on refugee policies and serves as a counselor for refugee recognition, said the number of refugee applicants has grown since the second administration of Shinzo Abe started in 2012.

“As for the reason for the increase in applicants, the government focused on such discourses as ‘the number of people disguised as refugees has risen,’ rather than taking into account the global situation,” Kitamura said.

“So, the government took a harsh approach from a humanitarian standpoint, and this has continued in subsequent Liberal Democratic Party administrations.”