Even though three months have passed since journalist Kenji Nagai was killed while covering pro-democracy activists in Myanmar (Burma), the ruling junta, which is under international censure for clamping down on civilian demonstrators, is still withholding the circumstances of Nagai's death and the actual number of victims of the crackdown.
Japan must persist in urging Burma to democratize and keep demanding the return of Nagai's personal effects and acceptance of a Japanese team to investigate the tragedy. Japan also should do something about the plight of Burmese refugees. The junta is also oppressing the nation's ethnic minorities with renewed harshness.
Across the Thai border, about 150,000 displaced Burmese are living in refugee camps. The exodus began more than 20 years ago, and the number of children who were born in the camps and know nothing of the outside world is growing. The junta should obviously end the oppression and enable these people to return home. But the grim reality is that such prospects are virtually nil.
Even after the crackdown in which Nagai was slain, Japan has continued to provide aid to Burma, albeit only for humanitarian purposes. But if the word "humanitarian" is the qualifier, surely Japan should also be helping people who have fled Burma. Extending aid to such people should also make Japan's position quite clear--that it does not approve of what the ruling junta is doing.
There is a system by which refugees can resettle in a third country. By letting third countries share the responsibility of providing permanent homes to displaced persons, this system alleviates the burden on the country where refugee camps are set up. The United States and Europe have led the way, and some Latin American nations are now following suit. This is an important attempt to give hope to refugees who deserve a new life.
Antonio Guterres, head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), recently visited Japan and asked the government to consider becoming such a third country. We hope the government will comply with his request.
Japan is often criticized in the international community for being "cold" toward refugees. Since ratifying the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1981, Japan had recognized only 410 refugees as of the end of 2006. This time, however, the government is not sitting idle. The ministries of foreign affairs, justice and health, labor and welfare have formed a deliberative council and started discussing the possibility of resettling refugees in Japan as a third country.
It is certainly not easy to start a new life in a country whose language, culture and customs are alien to one's own. The receiving side must make all sorts of preparations. However noble the intent, the attempt is bound to fail if all it can fall back on is a slogan such as "international humanitarianism."
Refugees must be helped to learn the language, and their jobs and homes must be provided for them. For school-age children, the classroom will be their window to Japanese society. Assistance from local governments and businesses will be indispensable. Looking back, Japan had some experience since the late 1970s in receiving refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. A center was established to promote their permanent settlement in Japan, and more than 11,000 people did benefit from this. But this was only a special measure of a temporary nature, and whatever follow-up measures that were implemented proved insufficient. Making use of the lessons learned, the government ought to act quickly. The acceptance of refugees can start on a small scale, but we want the program to succeed so that it can be expanded later. And naturally, we want the expanded program to eventually apply to refugees from countries other than Burma. We believe Japan owes this much to the international community.