Japan’s deportation drive strikes fear into asylum seekers, foreign residents
Rights groups warn the government’s push to remove more undocumented migrants clashes with its duty to protect refugees
Official figures show a record 318 foreign nationals were forcibly deported from Japan under escort in 2025, up 30 per cent from a year earlier, as authorities ramped up the Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan (Zero Plan), a government drive launched last May to speed up removals and cut the number of undocumented foreign residents.
Of that total, 52 had applied for refugee status in Japan three or more times, with the plan placing particular emphasis on removing people whose bids for recognition have been rejected multiple times.
Human rights groups, however, said the stepped-up deportations were striking fear into foreign nationals in Japan, including some who had lived in the country for decades and others who genuinely feared for their lives if they were sent back.