Japan Refuses Sanctuary to Fleeing Gay
365Gay.com,
April 12, 2004
By Peter Hacker, 365Gay.com Newscenter, Asia Bureau Chief
Tokyo—A Japanese court yesterday
rejected a request for refugee status from a gay Iranian man who claimed that
his sexuality would be grounds for the death penalty if he was sent back to
his homeland.
It was the first case taken by a Japanese court dealing
with a person who had sought refugee status citing homosexuality.
The Tokyo District Court said the 40-year-old man’s
sexual orientation was not grounds enough to grant refugee status.
“In Iran, he has been concealing his homosexuality.
Therefore, the possibility is slight that he would be persecuted at home,”
presiding judge Yosuke Ichimura said.
The man fled to Japan in 1991 because of fears that he
would be persecuted in his native country, according to court documents. He
was arrested by Japanese authorities in 2000 as an illegal immigrant, the
documents said.
Various international organizations, including the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees, have asked Japan to accept more refugees.
Japan accepted 10,919 refugees between 1975 and 2000,
according to foreign ministry figures, equivalent to less than 437 people a
year.
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