1,296 People Took Refuge in Japan from Ukraine

According to news on June 14th, data from the Immigration Service Agency of Japan showed that as of June 12th, 1,296 people had evacuated from Ukraine to Japan.

In April 2022, there were 20 people that went to Japan by government plane as well as 120 people that went to Japan by government-chartered plane, and another 1,156 people by other means.

By gender, 322 were male and 974 were female.

Divided by age group, there were 298 people under the age of 18, 820 people over the age of 18 but under the age of 60, and 178 people over the age of 61. Divided by entry date, there were 351 people in March, 471 people in April, 332 people in May, and 142 people in June (as of the 12th). 20 of them had already left Japan.

The Japanese Government allows asylum seekers to stay in Japan for a short period of time for 90 days, and also allows them to change their short-stay visas to 1-year “specified activities” visas to work and live in Japan. If the visa is changed to “specific activities”, it is possible to log in as a resident, to join the national health insurance system and to open a bank account. Until the 12th of this month, the Immigration Service Agency of Japan has approved 978 people to change their status. Moreover, three people have applied for refugee status so far.

The government has found hotels as temporary accommodation for Ukrainian asylum seekers who have no relatives in Japan, and is looking for local governments and companies willing to accept them. So far, 27 people from 14 families have been resettled.

As refugees will stay longer in Japan, they need support in terms of language, employment, education, etc. to meet their living needs in Japan.