May 22, 2021 04:45:20 pm
The government of Japan pulled a bill Tuesday meant to amend the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. The decision follows criticism stemming from the death of a 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman at an immigration detention center in Nagoya in March. The woman had been held at the detention center since August 2020 after her visa had expired. She had arrived in Japan in 2017 on a student visa, but her cause of death remains unknown.
Cabinet had approved the revisions to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act in February, and the National Diet was considering the proposed amendments. The bill has received an intense backlash from activists and lawyers. A rally organized in opposition to the bill was attended by opposition lawmakers and human rights organizations. At the same time, an online petition raised more than 100,000 signatures.