A Sudden End to Fifteen Years of Precedent
Japan’s Immigration Services Agency (ISA) terminated a longstanding practice on February 1, 2026, that had required immigration authorities to notify attorneys approximately two months before their foreign clients faced deportation. The policy change marks the abrupt conclusion of a system established in 2010 through a formal agreement with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), which had aimed to ensure foreign nationals could mount effective legal challenges against forced removal.
The decision has triggered immediate protests from Japan’s legal community, which argues the move strips vulnerable migrants of essential due process protections. Under the previous arrangement, lawyers received notification in the format of “the Xth week of Y month,” providing a critical window to file lawsuits seeking withdrawal of deportation orders or to prepare other legal defenses. The ISA now notifies foreign nationals directly just one month before deportation, a timeframe attorneys contend is insufficient to secure judicial relief.
Security Concerns Cited as Primary Motivation
Immigration authorities justified the policy reversal by citing operational security risks that emerged in recent years. Since 2019, at least seven foreign nationals subject to deportation orders have temporarily disappeared after their lawyers received advance notification of repatriation schedules. Five of these individuals remained at large as of late 2025, according to agency records. The missing persons were on provisional release from immigration detention facilities, required to report periodically to authorities, but failed to appear after learning their departure dates.
Additional complications arose when information about scheduled deportations circulated on social media platforms. Immigration officials reported that some attorneys opposed to deportation policies posted planned repatriation dates online, generating protest phone calls that disrupted agency operations. In one case, a halted deportation resulted in flight cancellation fees and associated costs totaling approximately three million yen. The Tokyo Regional Immigration Services Bureau alone had issued roughly 50 advance notices to lawyers in 2025 before the practice ceased.
Legal Community Decries Erosion of Due Process
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has strongly objected to the change, describing it as a violation of constitutional protections guaranteeing access to the courts. JFBA President Reiko Fuchigami issued a statement late last month describing the two month notification system as “an extremely important mechanism in effectively guaranteeing the right to a trial.” The bar association argues that the shortened one month window makes it “extremely difficult” to prepare and submit lawsuits challenging deportation orders.
The constitutional right to a trial represents a fundamental protection under Japanese law, yet immigration proceedings have historically occupied a complex space between administrative and judicial authority. Attorneys specializing in immigration law explain that preparing a lawsuit to challenge deportation requires extensive documentation, including evidence of family ties in Japan, risk assessments for return to home countries, and legal arguments regarding procedural errors in original detention orders. The two month window previously allowed time for court filings, emergency injunctions, and negotiations with immigration authorities. Reducing this to one month effectively forecloses many of these legal avenues, particularly for detained individuals or those with limited resources.
“It is a unilateral measure lacking fact-based examination and sincere consultations between the parties involved,” the federation stated. “Simply informing foreign nationals would not specify the exact timing of deportation, and the grace period is too short to allow for adequate time to seek judicial relief.”
Legal experts note that foreign nationals facing deportation often file suits seeking to stop their repatriation, particularly when they have established family ties in Japan or face risks upon return to their home countries. The 2010 notification system was specifically designed to accommodate these legal challenges, allowing attorneys to consult with clients and initiate procedures to contest deportation orders before escort officers executed forced removal.
The One-Month Alternative
Under the revised procedures, the ISA will inform foreign individuals directly that their deportation will be deferred for one month after the final decision is made. The agency maintains this period provides sufficient opportunity to file lawsuits, insisting that the abolition of lawyer notifications does not violate the right of foreign nationals to a trial. However, attorneys counter that direct notification to individuals, rather than their legal representatives, fails to specify exact deportation dates and creates practical barriers for those with limited Japanese language skills or understanding of legal procedures.
Kazuya Namerikawa, a lawyer involved in discussions with the Immigration Services Agency, has called for renewed dialogue between authorities and the legal community. He stressed that the notification system offers what may be the final opportunity for foreign nationals to seek legal help while the government accelerates deportation efforts. The connection between advance notices and the missing foreign nationals remains contested, with some legal advocates questioning whether the seven cases since 2019 justify dismantling a system that served hundreds of deportation cases annually.
Broader Immigration Crackdown Underway
The policy change forms part of a comprehensive government initiative to strengthen immigration enforcement under the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. In May 2025, the ISA announced it would more strictly enforce measures against foreigners from entry through departure, arguing that migrants who violate immigration rules threaten public safety and social stability. The government established the “Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan for the Safety and Security of People in Japan,” aiming to halve by 2030 the number of foreign nationals with finalized deportation orders.
The agency has set ambitious enforcement targets, planning to double the number of deportations conducted with escort officials from 249 cases in 2024 to approximately 500 by 2027. In the three months following the implementation of the zero illegal immigrants plan, roughly 120 foreigners were deported under marshal accompaniment, double the figure from the same period in 2024. These enforcement actions have included the separation of children from parents and the removal of individuals raised in Japan who lack legal status despite deep social roots.
The enforcement push reflects changing demographics and political pressures within Japanese society. Despite severe labor shortages in construction, demolition, and manufacturing sectors caused by a declining birthrate and aging population, the government has prioritized strict immigration control over economic integration of undocumented workers. The contradiction between labor needs and enforcement policies has created a precarious underclass of foreign workers who contribute to the economy while living under constant threat of detention and removal. The administration of Prime Minister Takaichi has explicitly framed the zero illegal immigrants goal as necessary for public safety, though critics argue this rhetoric fuels xenophobic sentiment and ignores the reality that many deportation targets have resided in Japan for decades.
Impact on Kurdish Refugees and Vulnerable Populations
The policy change particularly affects vulnerable asylum seekers, including Turkish Kurds who have sought refuge in Japan since the mid-1990s fleeing political persecution and ethnic violence. Japan accepts only a tiny fraction of refugee applications, with just 2.2% of asylum seekers granted refugee status in 2024, compared to rates exceeding 70% in countries like Canada. This low recognition rate left many Kurds in prolonged legal limbo, protected from deportation only by the ability to submit repeated asylum applications.
However, a 2023 amendment to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act closed this loophole, allowing authorities to deport individuals who submit three or more asylum applications “without cause,” unless they present new evidence. As of May 2025, approximately 1,918 Turkish nationals, including Kurds, were in deportation proceedings, with 738 on temporary release from detention facilities.
Many Kurdish asylum seekers have established lives in Japan’s Saitama prefecture, where they work in the demolition industry filling labor shortages caused by the country’s aging population and declining birthrate. Despite contributing to the economy, these workers face increasing hostility, including hate speech and political pressure to suspend Japan’s visa exemption agreement with Turkey. The removal of advance notification for lawyers removes a critical safeguard for these individuals, who often lack Japanese language proficiency and require legal assistance to navigate complex immigration procedures.
Community organizations in Saitama prefecture have documented cases where Kurdish families have been separated during deportation proceedings, with children who have spent their entire lives in Japanese schools suddenly facing removal to countries they have never visited. The 2023 legal amendment specifically targeted asylum seekers who had utilized repeated applications to maintain legal presence, a strategy that became necessary because Japan’s refugee recognition rate remains among the lowest in the developed world. Human rights monitors have noted that deporting rejected asylum seekers to Turkey raises particular concerns given the political situation involving Kurdish minorities, though Japanese authorities maintain that individual risk assessments are conducted before removal. The elimination of advance lawyer notification removes a critical checkpoint where attorneys could intervene to present new evidence or emergency circumstances that might halt deportation at the last moment.
Key Points
- Japan’s Immigration Services Agency ended the two month advance deportation notice system for lawyers effective February 1, 2026, citing cases where foreign nationals disappeared after receiving notification.
- The system was established in 2010 under an agreement with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations to help attorneys prepare legal defenses for clients facing forced removal.
- Foreign nationals will now receive direct notification one month before deportation, a timeframe the legal community argues is insufficient to secure judicial relief or prepare trials.
- The change aligns with the government’s “Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan,” which aims to double deportations with escort officials by 2027 and halve the backlog of deportation orders by 2030.
- The policy particularly impacts asylum seekers, including Kurdish refugees from Turkey, who face deportation under tightened rules that limit repeated asylum applications.
