No. of foreigners who applied for refugee status in Japan down 186 in 2010

Saturday 26th February, 07:16 AM JST

TOKYO —

The number of foreigners who applied for refugee status in Japan in 2010 totaled 1,202, down 186 from a year earlier, while only 39 people were certified as refugees, up nine, the Justice Ministry said Friday.

Applicants from Myanmar, the largest group, decreased by 226, apparently because the situation in the country has been stabilizing since 2007, a year that saw violent repression of antigovernment demonstrations, according to the ministry’s Immigration Bureau.

Those who applied for refugee status in 2010 included 342 people from Myanmar, 171 from Sri Lanka, 126 from Turkey, 109 from Nepal, and 91 from India. The number of Nepalese more than doubled from the previous year.

The number of foreigners who were not given refugee status but were allowed to stay in Japan on humanitarian grounds fell by 138 to 363.

Of the overall total of 402 foreigners who have been granted asylum in Japan through 2010, 356 were people from Myanmar.