Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Japan pulls back bill after outcry over Sri Lankan student's death

Japan pulls back bill after outcry over Sri Lankan student's death

CRITICISM over the death of a Sri Lankan student in Japan has forced the country to withdraw a bill that would have made it easier to deport failed applicants for refugee status.

Members of prime minister Yoshihide Suga's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have abandoned their attempt to pass an overhaul of the immigration law on Tuesday (18), which would have ensured that asylum seekers could be deported after their third failed application, an official said.


Japanese treatment of refugees and people facing deportation have come under extreme global criticism after the death of Sri Lankan-origin Wishma Sandamali in Nagoya Immigration Center in Japan in March. 

Sandamali went to Japan in 2017 as a college student after which she applied for refugee status in September 2018. She was permitted for a stay of two more months with no work permitted but lost her status of residence. She was arrested in August 2020 when she approached authorities for reporting domestic abuse and was charged with violating Japanese immigration control law instead.

In mid-January, 2021, Sandamali began complaining of stomach pain, nausea, loss of appetite, and numbness of the body. By mid-February, her condition grew too weak to walk or even stand and she reportedly asked the authorities repeatedly to take her to hospital. She eventually died in her cell on March 6.

“These people don’t take me to the hospital because I am in custody of them. I need to recover but I don’t know how to do it,” wrote the 33-year-old student in a letter written to a START volunteer, a local news outlet reported.

Sandamali’s death had led to a huge public outcry, bringing Japan’s treatment of foreigners facing deportation under the spotlight once again. 

Criticism of the bill further mounted online and one ruling party official reportedly said that there was no point in pushing it through, given the growing backlash. 

Japan has long been reticent about immigration and asylum, despite an aging population and shrinking workforce that economists say could be alleviated by accepting more immigrants.

More For You

'Hundreds of million pounds can be saved by abolishing NHS'

Keir Starmer speaks with medical staff during a visit to the Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Epsom Hospital in Epsom, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

'Hundreds of million pounds can be saved by abolishing NHS'


HUNDREDS of millions of pounds could be saved and patient waiting lists reduced as prime minister Keir Starmer announced plans to abolish NHS England, the body overseeing the state-funded health system.

In a speech delivered in Hull, Starmer explained his decision to streamline the National Health Service's management structure: "I can't, in all honesty, explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy."

Keep ReadingShow less
Early risers in the UK witness stunning Blood Moon eclipse

The lunar eclipse of Friday may not have been as dramatic as the total eclipses seen in other parts of the world

iStock

Early risers in the UK witness stunning Blood Moon eclipse

In the early hours of Friday morning, stargazers across the UK were treated to a partial lunar eclipse, with many enthusiasts rising before dawn to catch a glimpse. The celestial event, which saw the Earth's shadow partially covering the Moon, began at 05:09 GMT. Although only partial for most UK observers, it still presented a spectacular sight, with western parts of the country and regions further afield, such as the Americas and some Pacific islands, witnessing the eclipse.

For some, like Kathleen Maitland, the experience was magical. Stargazing from Pagham Harbour in West Sussex, she described the beauty of watching the Moon gradually darken and transform into a reddish hue, with the sunrise unfolding behind her. The eclipse gave rise to the so-called "blood Moon," a phenomenon that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow, turning a dusky red as sunlight is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sangam Foundation celebrates Women's Day

From L- Reetu Kabra, Maya Sondhi, Shobu Kapoor and Meera Syal during Sangam Foundation's Women's Day celebrations.

Sangam Foundation celebrates Women's Day

HUNDREDS of women gathered for the International Women's Day celebrations of Sangam Foundation last week. Prominent actresses Meera Syal, Shobhu Kapoor and Maya Sondhi have attended the event, a statement said.

The British Asian celebrities shared their experiences of breaking into an industry rife with misogyny and prejudice. The industry veterans also talked about challenges they faced in a male-dominated field.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian tycoon Sudhir Choudhrie  backs Liberal
Democrats with £23,000

Sudhir Choudhrie

Asian tycoon Sudhir Choudhrie  backs Liberal Democrats with £23,000

BUSINESSMAN Sudhir Choudhrie has emerged as one of the biggest British Asian donors to the Liberal Democrats in the last quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from the Electoral Commission.

Choudhrie, currently an advisor on India to the leader of the Liberal Democrats, contributed on six different occasions to the party between October and December 2024, totalling more than £23,000. He contributed in a similar fashion in the previous quarter as well.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sunak is ‘content in his MP role
and has no desire to move to US’

(From left) Rishi Sunak with wife Akshata Murty, and parents Usha and Yashvir Sunak

Sunak is ‘content in his MP role and has no desire to move to US’

RISHI SUNAK “loves being an MP” and has no intention of flying to California to begin a new life in America, as his enemies alleged during the general election campaign last year.

And, unlike Boris Johnson, he is not striving to be prime minister again, even though he is still only 44.

Keep ReadingShow less