Japan immigrant centre detainees stage hunger strike

Twenty immigrants, detained in Japan, have begun a hunger strike to protest against inhuman conditions in the country's detention centres, the non-profit Provisional Release Association said on Friday.

The detainees, aged between 22 and 25, from 12 countries including Peru, China, India, Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria and Cameroon, began the hunger strike at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau on Tuesday protesting against multiple detentions and human rights violations at the centre, Efe news reported.

The protestors were also demanding an improvement in conditions at other detention centres, following the death of a Vietnamese citizen from heart attack in March in another detention centre, where he was allegedly not provided with timely medical help, said the Association.

The detainees, who handed over their grievances in a letter to the director of the Regional Immigration office, also said they have been intimidated and threatened during interrogation at their centre.

A spokesperson of the immigration office, under the Japanese Ministry of Justice, told Efe news that 20 people were on hunger strike and they have been given a complaint box to register their grievances.

The spokesperson said the detention centre is managed according to Japanese law, and added there was a provision for third party audits to review its conditions.

The protestors are expected to continue their hunger strike until their demands are met.

Nearly 570 irregular migrants remain detained at the regional centre.

Some human rights organisations and national media have criticised the poor conditions in which these people are being held -- in particular, harsh interrogations or insufficient medical facilities -- along with Japan's strict immigration policy.

In 2016, Japan accepted 28 refugees, representing 0.25 per cent of the total of 10,901 applications, a record number of asylum seekers for the Asian country, according to the Japanese Ministry of Justice.

--IANS

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