Japan’s migrant supervisory release system leaves some in limbo

TOKYO – Every day at midnight, Daisuke Sugawara heads to his bakery northeast of Tokyo to start preparing the sourdough bread and sandwiches he will sell that day. 

Sugawara will work until the shop opens at 9 a.m. and then move on to his second, unofficial job: supervising 10 immigrants from across the globe. 

Before COVID-19, Sugawara watched a movie about immigrants living in a detention center less than 30 minutes from his home and was shocked. 

After the pandemic, he started volunteering every Tuesday to help immigrants in that detention center. Three years later, Sugawara still visits it weekly to speak with detainees and assist them in any way he can. 

He is allowed 30 minutes to speak with each detainee, which is when he helps them reach out to their families in different countries for paperwork or secure temporary release via the supervision measures system.

Immigrants getting help from Sugawara are under a system called kanri sochi in Japanese, an alternative to detention for certain immigrants whose status doesn’t allow them to live in Japan, but may be authorized to do so under the supervision of a volunteer Japanese guardian.

Sugawara is the only supervisor of this kind in his prefecture. He essentially acts as a legal guardian, helping people released from immigration custody find housing and navigate immigration paperwork. He also provides some financial support and is required to report any illegal behavior to the immigration authorities. He does not get paid.

Sugawara never expected to be responsible for 10 immigrants, but after countless meetings with them, he said he believes they are good people and wants to see them released.

“They have no crime,” Sugawara said. “Just didn’t get the visa.” 

Angels and problems 

One of the immigrants under Sugawara’s supervision is Akira (he is using a pseudonym in this story to protect his privacy), who left China and moved to Japan in 1991. He enrolled in a Japanese university and later started a business that ultimately failed, leaving him with no money. 

His undocumented stay began in 1994, when his visa expired. A few years later, his Chinese passport expired and Akira lost contact with his family. Lacking a valid passport and blood relative testimonials to verify his identity, Chinese authorities refused to reissue his passport, making deportation from Japan impossible. 

Akira spent two years in detention, until last year, when he was released under kanri sochi and Sugawara’s supervision. He says it was as if God had sent an angel to help him.

But not everyone has the opportunity to meet an angel like Akira did. While the kanri sochi is an alternative to detention, one of the hardest obstacles for those seeking to enter it is finding a supervisor on their own, and not many Japanese citizens participate in the program. For immigrants who don’t have any family or friends in the country, this step is a major barrier to leaving detention. 

“It’s quite difficult to find someone willing to take on that role,” Akira said. “Finding a guardian is incredibly difficult for everyone.” 

Akira said he thinks the law behind kanri sochi is discriminatory against foreigners and ignores human rights. 

“The government doesn’t want people to serve as supervisors because it’s trying to quickly expel foreigners from Japan,” Akira said. 

Akira said it is extremely difficult living under kanri sochi. “It feels like all the responsibility falls on my supervisor, Sugawara,” he said. 

The kanri sochi requires renewal every one to three months, but it may be revoked at any time. 

Permission with many restrictions

Among the problems that immigrants under kanri sochi find is the lack of access to public health care.

In Japan, every resident must register their address to access services, but immigrants under the kanri sochi are not allowed to do so. 

“They cannot access public services available to ordinary residents, such as health insurance,” said Naomi Takahashi, an attorney at the Tokyo Public Law Office who works in the foreign nationals and international service section. “As a result, they face restrictions such as having to pay 100% of the cost whenever they visit a hospital.”

In addition to health barriers, those under kanri sochi are not allowed to leave their prefecture without obtaining permission from immigration authorities. If they need to visit a hospital or an attorney in a different prefecture, for instance, they must obtain special permission each time, Takahashi said. 

Another problem is being able to work. In contrast to the United States’ laws that allow asylum applicants to apply for a job permit 150 days after submitting their application, those under the kanri sochi are prohibited from employment. But like in the U.S., where undocumented people often work illegally, many under kanri sochi turn to work under the table, increasing their vulnerability. 

“I can’t make a living,” Akira said. “Being able to live is a basic human right, but under the supervisory release system, working is prohibited, so I’m not allowed to earn an income through my own labor.”

While there is a special permit to work for those under supervision, it involves a complex and bureaucratic process that requires the applicant to meet the welfare-level income threshold in addition to extensive paperwork, Takahashi said. 

In 2024, only four out of 38 kanri sochi applications in all Japan for the working permit were approved, according to the Immigration Services Agency. 

Takahashi said the kanri sochi was introduced in order to prevent human right violations against people who remain detained for years, while the Immigration Services Agency states it is also meant to prevent escape.

The agency did not respond to requests for interviews.

Takahashi said that, instead of the kanri sochi, the government should have set a limit on how many years a person can be held or ensure proper court oversight. 

“Instead of pursuing reforms in that direction, they created a system that is, in reality, almost the same as the provisional release that already existed, but technically different, and introduced this measure in order to create the appearance of having addressed the problem — that’s how I understand it,” Takahashi said. 

Hirotoshi Nohara, an attorney at the same office, said that the system isn’t working. He said detention periods may seem shorter under kanri sochi, but that could be driven by quicker deportations, not necessarily a fundamental change in the system. 

Trapped in the old system 

Before kanri sochi was introduced, the only alternative to detention was a provisional release known as karihōmen. Under this system, detainees had to obtain a guarantor who would provide financial support. The role of a guarantor holds less liability and responsibility than that of a supervisor. 

While the kanri sochi has become the primary alternative to detention, more immigrants remain under karihōmen. At the end of 2024, only 409 people were living under kanri sochi compared to 3,478 who were under karihōmen, according to immigration data. 

Carlos, who’s using a pseudonym to protect his privacy, is a Colombian refugee who has lived in Japan over 30 years. He fled his motherland after his involvement in the arrest of a crime syndicate left him fearing for his life. 

Carlos was detained for the first time in 2008 for over a year, which is where a fellow detainee recommended he applied for refugee status. He has applied repeatedly since, watching immigration regulations tighten as the years go by.  

“It’s a system that keeps making things harder and harder for us,” Carlos said.

Under karihōmen, he has had a guarantor from his local church since his release in 2011. But under this system, there is no special permit he can apply for to work, unlike those under kanri sochi. He is also not allowed to leave his prefecture without obtaining permission, which has hindered his ability to visit resources, like food banks outside his prefecture. 

“Before when there was a war, they would put a gun to your head and say, ‘either you leave or we kill you,’ now it is the same thing; if you don’t leave you will die of hunger, you will die because you have nothing, no other options. So it’s the same thing — a kind of psychological torture,” Carlos said. 

Previously, those seeking refugee status were protected from deportation if their application or appeal was pending. Now, forced deportation is possible after a third application. Carlos’ fourth refugee application was recently rejected, and he is appealing that decision. 

The rejection comes from immigration authorities stating his fear of returning to Colombia does not meet requirements for refugee status. In 2024, more than 12,000 people submitted refugee applications and only 190 were approved, according to the Immigration Services Agency. 

If the appeal is considered, he will be able to stay. If not, he will be forced to leave the country he has learned to call home. 

“I’m not sure if they will give me time or remove me by force,” Carlos said. “The new system changed things, it feels like a warning tremor, like an earthquake that you know is coming, but you don’t know when it will hit: today, tomorrow or next month, but it is already shaking.”  

For Sugawara, helping people in situations like Akira and Carlos is a logical choice, simply because he is in the position to offer it. For immigrants living under either system, the lack of ability to work or move freely forces them to rely on others for survival.

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