This archive report was first published on 29 June 2019.
Published on June 29, 2019, a Nigerian man in his 40s died in a Japanese immigration detention center in Nagasaki, southern Japan, after losing consciousness and being taken to hospital.
The man had been on hunger strike to protest his lengthy detention, which had lasted over three years, according to RINK, a group supporting detainees at the center.
This is the 15th death since 2006 in a system widely criticized for its medical standards, monitoring of detainees, and response to medical emergencies.
Another 27 foreigners are on hunger strike at a detention center in Ushiku, northeast of Tokyo, with some having gone without food for 47 days, said Kimiko Tanaka, a spokeswoman for the group.
“The reality of a lengthy detention is nothing but a human rights violation,” Tanaka said.
As of June 2018, Japan held about 1,500 detainees, nearly half of whom had been held for more than six months, with some 604 being asylum seekers whose applications were rejected.
