Brawl Erupts as Japan Parliament Passes Controversial Immigration Reform Bill

Japanese lawmakers scuffle during a committee voting of security bills at the upper house of the parliament in Tokyo, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

Scuffles broke out in Japan’s parliament on Friday after a contentious bill to revise the country’s immigration law was approved, which will enable authorities to deport foreign nationals seeking refugee status in Japan.

Taro Yamamoto, a left-wing political leader and former Japanese actor, attempted to block the passage of the bill by using physical force as he flung himself toward legislators, as shown in a video posted on Twitter.

The incident lasted several minutes while fellow legislators tried to restrain him during the proceedings.

In a subsequent video, Yamamoto told his supporters that his actions were driven by concerns that the bill would result in loss of life.

It remains unclear if the incident resulted in any injuries and whether Yamamoto will face any disciplinary measures.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s governing coalition and other conservative parties passed the revision with their overwhelming majority despite strong opposition.

The bill would allow the deportation of foreign nationals who have applied for refugee status more than twice and failed to provide legitimate reasons for remaining in the country.

Under Japan’s current law, foreign nationals applying for asylum are protected from deportation, but the government said that some were applying repeatedly to stay in Japan for extended periods of time.

The revision will also allow foreign nationals facing deportation to stay outside of detention facilities, provided they are under the supervision of relatives or supporters. The decision on whether to allow detained foreigners to live outside detention facilities under the supervisory system will be reviewed on a three-month basis.

However, opponents have raised concerns that the revision could lead to the repatriation of individuals who may face persecution or even risk losing their lives if they were to be returned to their home countries.

Dozens of protesters stood outside the parliament building on Friday holding banners and shouting, “Stop bad revision!” and “Scrap the bill!” Inside parliament, opposition lawmakers took turns making protest speeches.

Human Rights Now (HRN), a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, stated on May 30 that the proposed amendments to Japan’s immigration law were “inconsistent with core human rights standards” and urged to reject the bill.

“The amendment bill does not contain sufficient procedural safeguards to ensure that refugees are not returned to countries in which they would be in probable danger of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, as required under refugee law,” it stated.

The bill is contrary to the international human rights standard that guarantees asylum seekers a legal presumption of liberty and requires that detention orders should be used “only as a last resort,” HRN added.

An earlier attempt to revise the refugee law in 2021 was shelved amid an uproar following the death of a Shri Lankan woman held at an immigration detention facility in Nagoya, central Japan, where she was not given proper medical care despite her repeated complaints of stomach problems and obvious declining health.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.