Asylum Seekers In Japan Face Difficult Obstacles

by Lucy Craft, NPR

Japan is one of the most anti-immigrant countries in the industrialized world. Sweden, with roughly the same land area as Japan but an economy only about 10 percent as large, received over 30,000 applications for asylum last year. Japan received just 1,200 applications — and approved 400, almost all of them from a single country: Myanmar. The few refugees who reside in Japan say they are treated poorly and are detained for long periods of time.

Broadcast Dates

• All Things Considered, June 1, 2011