ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the previous studies and arguments on refugee acceptance in Japan and to propose areas for future research. It presents an overview of the asylum system in Japan and looks at the international and domestic assessments as well as the existing literature on refugee acceptance in Japan and identifies the relevant structural factors relating to Japan's asylum system. Post-war Japan established its immigration control framework based on the 1952 Immigration Control Ordinance. In 2002, a family of five thought to be North Korean defectors entered the grounds of the Consulate General of Japan in Shenyang, China. Notable developments over the next decade include a rapid increase in applications from 2010 onward. The nature of resettlement programmes is such that governments are able to determine the number of refugees they wish to accommodate, as well as the specific beneficiaries, in advance.
