Helping 'refugees' from the North

「脱北者」問題を考える

According to the Foreign Ministry, scores of North Korean residents who formerly lived in Japan have resettled here with their Japanese wives under covert arrangements. The number of such returnees is expected to rise given the deepening economic crisis in North Korea. The government should give them as much support as it can, particularly if they have Japanese nationality.

The case-by-case approach of the past will not suffice. Much remains to be done — for example, setting transparent rules for the rescue and receiving of returnees and providing support for their living in Japan. To qualify for assistance, however, some of them may have to be recognized as refugees. The government should work out a comprehensive relief program in consultation with China, South Korea and international organizations.

The woman who returned in late January for the first time in 44 years was a former Tokyo resident. She sneaked into China last autumn with the help of an intermediary group. But her solo escape hit a snag when the group requested cash from the Japanese government in exchange for her handover. Things became more difficult when Chinese authorities detained the woman. That prompted Tokyo to disclose some of the facts about her.

Until then the government had maintained confidentiality about returnees, partly out of concern for the safety of their families left in North Korea and partly in deference to China, which regards escapees from North Korea as illegal entrants. However, Beijing has acquiesced in the transit entry of former Korean residents and their Japanese spouses, accommodating Tokyo's request for humanitarian consideration. Nongovernmental organizations are said to have been helpful in arranging their exits.

It is problematic, however, that China should treat all escapees as illegal entrants. Since it is a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, China is obligated to protect refugees seeking political asylum. Last month Chinese authorities detained nearly 60 people seeking eventual asylum in Japan. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees had proposed to interview them for refugee identification, but the Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected the offer, saying they were not refugees because they had entered China illegally for economic reasons.

The Chinese position is based on a Beijing-Pyongyang agreement that says people entering China across the Chinese-Korean border without permission should be deported home. According to NGO officials, Korean residents who formerly resided in Japan and their Japanese wives face particularly tough crackdowns when they flee to China.

Many of those who went to North Korea under the repatriation program have since suffered great hardships, as dramatized by the suffering of the woman who returned in late January. From 1959 to 1984 a total of 93,340 people, including about 1,800 Japanese wives, chose to live in that country, which was portrayed at the time as a "paradise on Earth."

There is now talk that Japan should create special legislation to help these returnees — legislation similar to the current measure for those who have rejoined their families here after being kidnapped by North Korean agents during the Cold War. A distinction must be made, however, between those who went to the North of their own accord and those who were taken there against their will. In other words, it is not reasonable to treat returning refugees in the same way as those abducted from Japan.

To begin with, the government should do what it can, including offering subsistence support and vocational training. Eligibility standards need to be applied flexibly. Former Korean residents with close ties to Japan should be able to receive almost the same treatment as Japanese nationals. For that, the rigid standards of refugee status need to be relaxed.

A bill now under consideration aims to extend the maximum period of refugee application to six months from the present 60 days. Grievance and review systems also need improving. The important thing is to tackle the refugee problem in the broader context of Japan's international contributions — not only from the narrower standpoint of protecting Japanese nationals.

The Japan Times:
February 13, 2003
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      北朝鮮の経済問題が深刻化するにつれ、脱北者の数も増えると予想されている。政府は日本国籍を持つものにはできるだけの支援をすべきだ。

      脱北者の救出、受け入れ、支援などについては透明なルールが必要になる。政府の支援を受けるには難民認定が必要なケースもある。政府は、中国、韓国、国際機関と協議して脱北者支援計画を作らねばならない。

      これまで政府は、帰国した脱北者に関する情報を明らかにしてこなかった。北朝鮮に残された家族の安全を考え、また脱北者を不法入国者として扱う中国当局の立場に配慮したためである。その後、中国は北朝鮮住民とその日本人配偶者の一時入国については黙認することにした。

      中国が全脱北者を不法入国者として扱うのは問題がある。中国は難民条約の加入国として政治亡命を求める難民を保護する義務がある。

      1959年から1984年までの「帰還事業」の下で、93,340人（1,800人の日本人妻を含む）が「地上の楽園」と宣伝された北朝鮮に渡った。

      これらの人たちが帰還した場合には、北朝鮮に拉致されて帰国した日本人と同じ処遇をすべきだとの声もある。しかし、自分の意思で北朝鮮に渡った人と無理に連れ去られた人は区別しなければならない。

      政府は北朝鮮からの帰国者に対し、生活援助、職業訓練などを提供すべきである。また、難民認定基準は弾力的に運用せねばならない。

      検討中の法案では、難民地位の適用を現在の最長60日間から6ヵ月に延長する。苦情処理制度も改善が必要になる。

      重要なことは、難民問題を日本国民の保護という狭い観点でなく、日本の国際貢献という広い視野から考えることである。

The Japan Times Weekly
February 22, 2003
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