Since the mid-1990s, a small but steady number of Turkish Kurds have sought refuge in Japan. They arrived having fled political persecution by the Turkish authorities, forcible evacuation from their villages, and violence during conflict between insurgency groups and the government.
The majority of Kurdish people fleeing Turkey have sought refuge in Europe. But a mutual visa exemption agreement between Japan and Turkey has seen Japan become an alternative destination for Turkish Kurds. In 2024, Turkish nationals accounted for approximately 10% of the total 12,373 asylum seekers.
Japan doesn’t grant refugee status in high numbers. To date, only one Turkish Kurd has been granted refugee status. This person was initially denied refugee status, but the Sapporo High Court overturned the decision in 2022, and he was recognised as a refugee. This was due to several factors, including his well-founded fear of persecution, and recognition of the fact that the Turkish legal system cannot effectively prevent enforced disappearance or torture against those suspected of being PKK supporters.
While Turkish Kurds have been able to enter Japan with relative ease, it’s been largely a closed state for refugee status, in comparison to other host countries. In 2024, 29,177 Turkish nationals sought asylum and 3,939 were granted refugee status in Germany. In the same year in France, there were 8,815 asylum seekers from Turkey, and 1,510 were granted refugee status.
Japan’s low refugee recognition rate doesn’t only apply to Turkish nationals. In 2024, only 2.2% of all asylum seekers were accepted as refugees in the country. Compare this to Canada, where 70% of displaced people have refugee status.
Despite this, asylum seekers were largely protected from deportation by a loophole in the Japanese asylum system – until two years ago. This loophole allowed them to continue reapplying for asylum even after several negative decisions – therefore enabling them to remain in the country indefinitely under a temporary status as asylum seekers. Since then, deportations have reportedly accelerated, along with hate speech and xenophobic sentiment.
With a declining birthrate and aging society, Japan faces severe labour shortages in certain sectors. Foreigners, including Kurdish asylum seekers, have often stepped in to fill these gaps – particularly in the demolition industry in Saitama prefecture, on the outskirts of Tokyo. Policy changes could support those workers to thrive in their jobs and contribute to their neighbourhoods, while simultaneously protecting their rights and ensuring their stability in Japan.
Refugee rights in Japan
On applying for refugee status in Japan, asylum seekers’ applications are processed by the Immigration Services Agency (ISA). If an asylum seeker is deemed likely to be a refugee according to the 1951 Refugee Convention, they can be granted a ‘Designated Activity’ resident status with a work permit. However, if the authorities suspect any abuse of the refugee recognition system, they can withhold a work permit. Moreover, if an individual doesn’t clearly meet the qualifications for refugee status, their residence permit may also be restricted.
Chronic labour shortages have created a high demand for able-bodied workers in manual labour industries, and Kurds have stepped in to fill the gap, at wages lower than the prevailing rate
Asylum seekers are somewhat protected during this process, with deportation procedures suspended until the minister of justice has determined their status. However, those who submitted several applications have been subjected to a loss of residence status, restrictions on their work and movement, and periods of detention. This includes a number of Kurdish asylum seekers.
According to the ISA, 1,918 Turkish nationals, including Kurds, were denied refugee status and in the process of deportation in 2023. Of that number, 738 were on temporary release from detention.
Kurds working in demolition
Turkish nationals are the third highest group to claim asylum in Japan, after Sri Lankan and Thai nationals. They have remained in this spot nearly every year since the mid-2000s.
Most Kurdish asylum seekers have precarious and temporary statuses. Some are able to work legally, but many work without permits, facing exploitation and insecurity in the informal sector.
A particularly high number of Kurdish men work in the demolition industry in Saitama prefecture. Demolition work – usually the demolition of derelict houses and buildings to clear land for new developments – does not require advanced Japanese language skills or high-level accreditations. Manual labour industries, including demolition, construction and manufacturing, are facing chronic labour shortages due to Japan’s declining birthrate and aging society. This creates a high demand for able-bodied workers in the sector, and Kurds have stepped in to fill the gap, at wages lower than the prevailing rate.
In recent years, the number of Kurds running demolition companies has increased. As of June 2025, Kurdish companies accounted for approximately a quarter of roughly 1,000 registered demolition companies in Saitama prefecture. While business owners must hold a work permit, it is possible that many of their workers do not.
Hostility from media and politicians
Until recently, the presence of Kurdish asylum seekers was considered a minor local issue by politicians and the media. This changed dramatically in 2023, when several events led to an increase in hostility towards foreigners, particularly Kurdish people.
In July of that year, nearly 100 Kurdish men gathered and had a quarrel in front of a municipal hospital. As a result of the gathering, emergency services at the hospital were suspended for over five hours and a police riot squad was deployed.
The 2023 legislation change has allowed authorities to deport individuals who submit three or more refugee status applications ‘without cause’, unless they meet certain conditions
The case featured heavily in the press. Around the same time, issues such as ‘unsafe’ Kurdish demolition practices, overloaded vehicles and ‘loud music’ were gaining ground on social media and in the news. The term ‘Kurds’ began trending regularly on social media, often accompanied by xenophobic and racist statements.
As hostility towards Kurdish asylum seekers snowballed, in September 2023, the mayor of Kawaguchi submitted a request to the minister of justice asking for foreigners who engaged in illegal activities to be deported. In August 2025, the governor of Saitama prefecture requested that the minister of foreign affairs temporarily suspend Japan’s mutual visa exemption agreement with Turkey. Some members of the ruling party also began to regard Kurdish asylum seekers as illegal workers and insist that the visa exemption agreement be suspended during debates in the Diet, Japanese parliament.
Meanwhile, a key piece of legislation was being changed, with the partial amendment to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (ICRRA) in 2023. This change has since allowed authorities to deport individuals who submit three or more refugee status applications ‘without cause’, unless they meet certain conditions, such as submission of new evidence.
As of May 2025, the ISA established the ‘Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan for the Safety and Security of People in Japan’ to reduce processing times over five years and double the number of deportations over three years. According to the ISA’s preliminary report in October, 203 deportations were carried out from January to August this year. Approximately a fifth of those deported were Turkish nationals, including Kurds, accounting for the largest nationality group. Forty-two of the escorted deportees were asylum seekers who had applied for refugee status three or more times, almost half of whom were Turkish nationals, including Kurds. Concerns about accelerating deportations have been expressed by rights-centred organisations, lawyers’ associations, and in the media. These changes have placed Kurds in an increasingly precarious position in Japan.
Community solidarity and inclusion
While Kurds have faced growing hostility, they have also been supported by a range of community efforts. A large number of Kurds in Japan live in Kawaguchi city in Saitama prefecture. According to the ISA, 2,206 Turkish nationals, including Kurdish asylum seekers (with or without residency) lived in the area in 2024.
In the absence of sufficient governmental support for asylum seekers, a growing solidarity network has emerged to support Kurdish migrants in Saitama. NGOs and volunteer groups provide informal Japanese language education for children and women, hold workshops and cultural exchange events to encourage connections between the Japanese and Kurdish communities, and provide support such as visits to Kurds detained at immigration bureau facilities. Lawyers provide free or low-cost legal consultations, and advocate for Kurds within the community. In August 2025, Saitama Bar Association issued a statement opposing hate speech directed at Kurdish people.
Despite these efforts, divisions between Japanese and Kurdish communities remain entrenched. A range of cultural dynamics mean that Kurds, and foreigners in general, live quite separately from their Japanese neighbours. This lack of interaction may be a contributing factor for continuing xenophobia in the country.
A survey conducted by the ISA in 2023 revealed that roughly 73% of Japanese people do not interact with foreigners in their daily lives. If openness towards asylum seekers and foreigners is to be promoted in Japan, a key step will be encouraging Kurdish and Japanese communities to interact with each other as neighbours.
Guaranteeing rights through policy
Japan’s immigration policy has directly enabled the protracted situation faced by Turkish Kurds in Japan. Kurdish asylum seekers have established lives in Japan while they apply for refugee status, many of them starting businesses which contribute to the Japanese economy. They wait in limbo for years, many with the threat of detention and deportation hanging over them – uncertain of what risks may wait for them in Turkey if they are to be sent back.
While Japan offers basic rights and protections to people fleeing violence and protection, more must be done to ensure better work and life opportunities for asylum seekers. Regularising residency statuses must be considered on the basis of their de facto integration into the local community. This would also benefit Japanese society through stabilising the community, closing spaces where exploitative work flourishes, and contributing to the economy through bringing new workers to the workforce.
There is a growing and urgent need for policy solutions in order to pave the way for a mutually beneficial situation for both Japanese and Kurdish populations.
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Chiaki Tsuchida is lecturer at the Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, Kobe University, Japan. She graduated from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo and received her PhD. from there in July 2022. She is the author of Nihon no Nanmin Hogo: Syutsunyuukoku Kanri Seisaku no Sengoshi (Refugee Protection in Japan: Postwar History of the Immigration Control Policy), which received the 9th ‘Yoshino Sakuzo Research Award’ in 2024 and the ‘Encouragement Award’ from the Japan Society for International Development in 2023.
