As deliberations on amendments to the Immigration Control Act and other laws to review the way foreigners are detained were nearing the final stage, support groups for foreigners held a meeting in front of the House of Councillors building and appealed that they "firmly oppose the amendment bill in order to realize an inclusive society."
A bill to revise the Immigration Control Act to review the way foreigners are detained was submitted in 2021, but was scrapped after the opposition parties criticized the content as inappropriate.
The government has resubmitted an amendment to the provision that suspends deportation while applying for refugee status, stating that there are cases where people try to avoid deportation by repeating the application, and that "in principle, it will not apply after the third application," and is aiming to pass it in the current Diet, but the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan submitted a censure resolution against Minister of Justice Saito. The battle between the ruling and opposition parties is intensifying.
Against this backdrop, foreign support groups held a rally in front of the House of Councillors' Diet Building on the morning of June 6 to oppose the amendment, and about 250 people gathered according to the organizer's announcement.
The members held up a board that read, "Status of residence, not punishment," and appealed to the "Resolute opposition to the realization of an inclusive society."
A 23-year-old graduate student who attended the rally and has Japan parents said: "There are many foreign children who were already born in Japan and grew up in Japan. Parents can't leave their children behind. I hope that the government will listen more to these voices."