From the Asahi Shimbun:

Japan maintains tough stance on refugees, only 20 accepted in 2017

By RYUJIRO KOMATSU/ Staff Writer

February 14, 2018 at 15:35 JST

Japan received a record 19,628 asylum applications in 2017, but only 20 were successful, according to preliminary figures released by the Justice Ministry on Feb. 13.

There were 8,727 more applications compared with 2016, when 28 people were granted refugee status. The total number of asylum seekers in 2017 marked a high for the seventh straight year.