Statelessness in Japan: Management and Challenges

Abstract

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Every person has the right to a nationality”. Most of us take nationality for granted, but people in varied circumstances find themselves to be stateless, sometimes to their surprise. This paper focuses on statelessness in Japan. First, I examine the cause of stateless people and classify them based on differences in legal status and background. Second, by presenting some actual cases of stateless people, I demonstrate how the stateless issue
has been overlooked and sometimes concealed by the system and society in Japan.
Last, I introduce the development of the Stateless Network, which is the first and only non-governmental organization in Japan supporting stateless people. Experiences of how the Network manages to support stateless people as well as the challenges to overcome.