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

Liz Kendall

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will outline welfare reforms in a green paper next week, followed by chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on 26 March.

Ministers may drop plan to freeze disability benefits: Report

MINISTERS are considering dropping plans to freeze Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for a year, according to a report.

Initial proposals suggested PIP would not rise in line with inflation, but strong opposition from Labour MPs has prompted a review.

Keep ReadingShow less
BBC settles age and sex discrimination case
BBC headquarters in Central London.
Getty Images

BBC settles age and sex discrimination case

THE BBC on Friday (14) said it had settled a case with four female journalists who claimed they lost their jobs because of their sex and age.

Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera, who have all presented on the BBC's television channels, claimed they lost their jobs following a "rigged" recruitment exercise.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

In this screenshot from a video posted by @Sec_Noem via X on March 14, 2025, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at United State’s Columbia University, leaves the country after her visa was revoked by the Department of State. (@Sec_Noem via PTI Photo)

Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

AN INDIAN student at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas, has self-deported, says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen, came to the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, and her visa was revoked on March 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

From LtoR- Lord Karan Bilimoria, Sir Trevor Phillips, Seema Malhotra MP, David Tyler and Nathan Coe

'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

COMPANIES with diverse leadership are better positioned for sustainable growth, improved decision-making, and will connect better with multicultural markets, equalities minister Seema Malhotra has said.

She added that the government will soon launch a public consultation on their approach to mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with  Wang Yi (right)

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with Wang Yi (right)

S Jaishankar: ‘Delhi’s global interests shape its regional ties'

INDIA today sees itself as a global power or, at least, a country with global interests, which is why Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has spoken of its equation with Russia, China and notably the Middle East.

India’s external affairs minister was in conversation last Wednesday (5) in London with Bronwen Maddox, director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House.

Keep ReadingShow less