Government ordered to compensate overstayers who got sick in detention
A court order has been issued to the government to pay ¥1.2 million ($8,300) in damages to two overstayers who got sick while they were held at a detention center.
In their filed lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court, an Iranian and a Turkish, both men, sought ¥30 million in state compensation, claiming that their sufferings, including a deterioration of their health, had been brought upon them by their prolonged detention.
The fact that the plaintiffs' health worsened markedly at a detention facility of the Immigration Services Agency led to the conclusion that their confinement ran counter to a U.N. treaty ensuring individual rights, such as that to self-determination, as well as to the immigration control and refugee recognition law, presiding Judge Tomoko Honda said in her ruling Tuesday.
According to the ruling and other records, the two men had been placed in the agency's immigration control center in the city of Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, several times between 2016 and 2020 and suffered depression. Both have been granted temporary release and are now applying for refugee status.
Stressing that the authorities should abide by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights when treating overstayers, the judge said immigration officials "neglected the U.N. treaty and violated the law by arbitrarily detaining the plaintiffs, an act that is impermissible."
"The ruling is epoch-making" because it interpreted the law's clauses in the context of the international treaty, said Ryutaro Ogawa, the lawyer for the plaintiffs.
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Government ordered to compensate overstayers who got sick in detention
A court order has been issued to the government to pay ¥1.2 million ($8,300) in damages to two overstayers who got sick while they were held at a detention center. In their filed lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court, an Iranian and a Turkish, both men, sought ¥30 million in state compensation, claiming that their sufferings, including a deterioration of their health, had been brought upon them by their prolonged detention. The fact that the plaintiffs' health worsened markedly at a detention facility of the Immigration Services Agency led to the conclusion that their confinement ran counter to a U.N. treaty ensuring individual rights, such as that to self-determination, as well as to the immigration control and refugee recognition law, presiding Judge Tomoko Honda said in her ruling Tuesday. According to the ruling and other records, the two men had been placed in the agency's immigration control center in the city of Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, several times between 2016 and 2020 and suffered depression. Both have been granted temporary release and are now applying for refugee status. Stressing that the authorities should abide by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights when treating overstayers, the judge said immigration officials "neglected the U.N. treaty and violated the law by arbitrarily detaining the plaintiffs, an act that is impermissible." "The ruling is epoch-making" because it interpreted the law's clauses in the context of the international treaty, said Ryutaro Ogawa, the lawyer for the plaintiffs.
2 days ago
Japan Govt Ordered to Pay Compensation for Overstayers
News from Japan Society Jun 18, 2025 13:31 (JST) Tokyo, June 18 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government has received a court order to pay 1.2 million yen in damages to two overstayers who got sick while they were being held at a detention center. In the lawsuit at Tokyo District Court, the Iranian and Turkish men sought 30-million-yen state compensation, claiming that sufferings, including deterioration in their health, had been brought on them by long-term detentions. The fact that the plaintiffs' health worsened markedly at a detention facility of the Immigration Services Agency led to the conclusion that their confinement ran counter to a U.N. treaty ensuring individual rights, such as the one to self-determination, as well as to the immigration control and refugee recognition law, presiding Judge Tomoko Honda said in her ruling Tuesday. According to the ruling and other records, the two men were placed in the agency's immigration control center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, several times between 2016 and 2020 and suffered depression. Now they are both on temporary release and applying for refugee status. Stressing that authorities should abide by what the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights mean when treating overstayers, the judge said immigration officials "neglected the U.N. treaty and violated the law by arbitrarily detaining the plaintiffs, an act that is impermissible." [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
