Japan accepts 1,000 Ukrainian evacuees

Ukrainians arrived at Narita Airport on April 9 on a commercial flight from Poland. Asahi Shimbun file photo Japan accepted 1,000 Ukrainian evacuees to date, in stark contrast to its reluctance to offer shelter to other foreign nationals fleeing persecution.

After Russia's invasion on February 24, the prime minister Fumio Kishida announced on March 2 that he would take in evacuees from Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi visited Poland in April for a first-hand look at how the country was helping evacuees from Ukraine and brought 20 Ukrainians aboard a government aircraft when he returned.

The government has seats on a LOT Polish Airlines direct flight to Japan every weekend for Ukrainians hoping to take refuge in Japan.

As of May 18th, Japan had accepted 995 Ukrainians, including those who flew on their own to Japan. There were five more arriving on May 21.

Of the 1,000 total, 758 were women.

They are eligible to work in Japan for a year on a 90 day visa but are eligible to switch to a designated activities visa.

The government also set up a website for Ukrainian evacuees to help them find clothes, appliances and furniture, as well as interpreters, listing goods and services provided by businesses and other organizations.

Ukrainians with no friends or family in Japan are allowed to stay in hotels on a temporary basis with the government paying the tab.

As of May 18, 61 were doing so.

The government has been working as a liaison between local authorities willing to take in evacuees and Ukrainians who are trying to secure housing.

Three families comprising seven Ukrainians decided this month to move to local communities in Tokyo, Kyoto Prefecture and Aichi Prefecture, making them the first batch of evacuees to take advantage of the government service.

The lump sum payment of up to 160,000 yen $1,250 per person is provided by the government when checking out of a hotel.

Each evacuee has access to 2,400 yen a day to cover basic living expenses.

The government treats Ukrainians as evacuees, not as refugees who face persecution in their home country because of ethnic issues, religion and other reasons.

Between 1982 and 2021, Japan granted asylum to only 915 foreign nationals. 3,289 foreign nationals were allowed to stay in Japan on humanitarian grounds, even though their applications for refugee status were denied.

A representative for the Japan Association for Refugees JAR, an official with the Japan Association for Refugees, said the special treatment given to Ukrainians is markedly different from the government handling of people from other nations.

The JAR said that an official support program for asylum seekers provides a per diem rate of 1,600 yen and 40,000 yen a month per person for a single-bed apartment while the government examines their applications.

A small portion of the asylum seekers get support from the government. It takes three months on average for the program to kick in, according to the JAR official.

A government official defended the preferential assistance policy for Ukrainians, saying it received broad support from the public. The conflict was an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, according to the official.

The government takes into account how the general public views evacuees, in a nutshell, the official said.