Japan is young Kurd s only home, despite challenges of illegal resident status
July 6, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
Ramazan, a 23-year-old Kurd who will have lived in Japan for 15 years this year, is seen in the city of Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, on April 20, 2021. He has been forced to lead a life under severe restrictions as he does not have legal residency status. (Mainichi/Yukinao Kin) TOKYO Imagine you have lived in Japanese society since you were a child. The customs and the lifestyle come naturally to you, though you were born elsewhere. Japan is home. Now imagine that you cannot work or move around this home freely, because you are officially categorized as an illegal resident. This is the plight of not a few people who live amongst us.
Horrible hospitality : Detainees talk about reality of Japan immigration facility in film
July 2, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
Foreigners on temporary release hold a press conference with Ian Thomas Ash (far right), director of the film Ushiku, in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on May 20, 2021. The two have experienced long-term detention at an immigration facility. (Mainichi/Yukinao Kin) TOKYO It is still fresh in our minds that in March this year, a Sri Lankan woman who was in detention at the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau died without being able to receive the medical treatment she sought. What is going on in the closed rooms of Japan s immigration facilities? Ian Thomas Ash, a filmmaker from the United States, brought a small camera into a visiting room to make the documentary film Ushiku. What are the realities inside the immigration facility as told by the detainees?