Immigration bureau criticised as heartless after saying that slogans supporting refugee rights are are ‘a bit much’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A tweet from the Tokyo immigration bureau complaining about graffiti supporting the rights of refugees has sparked a furious debate online, with many accusing it of showing more concern for the state of the city’s pavements than for asylum seekers.

In a post on its official account the bureau showed photographs of graffiti on a pavement and bridges that read “Free refugees” and “Refugees are welcome”.

“Freedom of expression is one thing but this is public property,” the bureau wrote. “Isn’t this a bit much?”

The tweet has been liked 13,000 times and received more than 2,000 responses.

While some defended immigration officials, others accused the bureau of downplaying its duty of care towards people seeking refuge in Japan, which accepted just 20 asylum seekers in 2017 – despite a record 19,628 applications – and allowed 45 to stay in the country on humanitarian grounds, according to the justice ministry.

Other users alluded to the harsh treatment of asylum seekers being held in detention centres, where 14 people have died since 2006, including several suicides.

“If you’re going to criticise graffiti then stop violating people’s human rights,” one person wrote.

Another asked if graffiti was more important than human rights. “You can erase graffiti but you can’t save a ruined human life.”

Japan had 20,000 applications for asylum in 2017. It accepted 20 Read more

In 2016 more than 40 detainees went on hunger strike at a facility in Osaka to protest against their living conditions and poor standards of medical care. In April this year dozens of people being held at a detention centre near Tokyo took similar action after an Indian detainee killed himself a day after his release request was denied.

Detainees also submitted a petition requesting an end to long-term detention, citing cases where inmates were held for more than two years.

A bureau official said the tweet, posted on Monday, had not meant to contradict the graffiti’s message. “We have an obligation to accept criticism over immigration policies but we tweeted in the hope of warning about graffiti, which will cause trouble to those who aren’t connected to the issue,” the official told Kyodo.

Koichi Kodama, a lawyer, said the bureau’s response to the graffiti was “childish”, according to the news agency.

A user professing to be a supporter of Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, speculated that no one would apply for refugee status in Japan if conditions were as harsh as critics suggested. “The people of Japan appreciate the hard work of immigration officials,” the user added.

In 2017 human rights groups accused Japan of unfairly closing its door on people in genuine need. Abe courted controversy in 2015 when he said Japan should improve the lives of its own people – particularly women and the elderly – before accepting refugees from Syria.

Last month local media reported that Japan was considering doubling the number of refugees it accepts from Asia to 60 a year from 2020.