Kurds in Japan

Kurds in Japan (Japanese: 在日クルド人, Zainichi Kurudo-jin, Kurdish: Kurdên Japonyayê) refers to Kurds residing in Japan. Kurds do not have a majority nation state and live in Kurdistan, a region that includes Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq in the Middle East and South Caucasus. After an increase in anti-migration sentiment on social platforms like X, some individuals from Turkey falsely claimed to be Kurds and spread hate. This led many Japanese people to perceive Kurds as a significant threat, with some even calling for their massacre due to a lack of knowledge about Kurdish people. As a result, Kurds in Japan are living stressful lives, and many are deciding to leave the country.

History
In the 1990s, they began to settle in the area around JR Warabi station. Many of them continued to live in the area illegally, without residence permits, with the local government unaware of their true status.

In the 1990s, Kurds of Turkish nationality began arriving in Japan, following Iranian Kurds who had been living in Japan since the 1980s, and settled in Kawaguchi City and Warabi City in Saitama Prefecture, where rents and other living costs were relatively cheap given their proximity to Tokyo. The area have become the largest Kurd settlement in Japan.

In 2010, during the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration, a unified work permit was introduced for applicants who had applied for refugee status six months earlier, which led to an increase in the number of refugee applicants applying for refugee status to work in Japan. On 12 January 2006, the Abe administration abolished the unified work requirement and reinstated the residence and work requirements for applicants who clearly did not qualify as refugees, and the number of refugee applicants dropped by half.

By 2024, the total number of Kurds in Japan is estimated to be 2,000 or more than 3,000, depending on media reports. As of April 2024, it is estimated that in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, there are about 700 "provisional releasees" who are illegal immigrants, and about 1,300 provisional releasees with a temporary residence status called "specified activities" (refugee visa during refugee status procedures). Previously, information on provisional releasees had not been reported to local governments, making it difficult to ascertain the actual number of such persons, but the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act has been revised and the actual number is now known. It is reported that following the implementation of the revised Act, the suspension of deportation during the application for refugee status will in principle be limited to twice, and the number of provisional releasees is expected to decrease.

Background
Japan and Turkey have a visa waiver agreement for up to 90 days, making travel easier than in Europe and the US, ostensibly to avoid persecution by the Turkish government, but in reality they are applying for refugee status to escape hardship caused by the earthquake in Turkey or to work and avoid deportation. Although many Kurds have applied for refugee status in Japan, the Immigration Bureau has denied them refugee status on the grounds that they are 'strongly suspected of trying to migrate and settle in Japan without acknowledging that they are refugees'. Meanwhile, Kurds claim that they are 'persecuted in Turkey'. There are also reportedly some who claim persecution from Turkey, which has invaded Syria. The Turkish government claims that there are no Kurdish refugees because Kurds 'have the right to vote and their human rights are guaranteed', and indeed Kurds are issued with passports and can vote from the embassy.

As of 2024, only one refugee claim has been granted by the Japanese government, a case won in court in 2022 against the rejection of a refugee claim.

The problem of illegal Kurdish residents in Japan repeatedly applying for refugee status and continuing to stay in the country has come to the fore, and the revised Immigration Control Act came into force on 10 June 2024 to fundamentally address this problem. This allows refugee claimants to be deported after the third time, unless they can provide 'material with reasonable grounds' for a new refugee claim. As of March 2024, there were 1661 multiple refugee claimants nationwide, of whom 402, or a quarter, were Turkish nationals; 80% of the 1661 were second time claimants, but there are a total of 348 foreigners who are third to sixth time claimants who have refused deportation and are living in the country and will eventually be deported and returned to their home country through deportation.

Language
Many Kurds in Japan are said to use a mixture of Kurdish and Turkish. However, some parents do not teach their children Kurdish. The occupations of many Kurds in Turkey are shepherding, agriculture and simple urban work, and there are many Kurds living in Japan who came to Japan without education and do not speak Japanese.

Illegal work
Many are working illegally or facilitating illegal employment on a casual basis, and some have been arrested.

Immigration and deportation
Kurds who returned to their homeland after being arrested have come to Japan, ignored the refusal of the immigration authorities to allow them to land and forcibly re-entered the country, rioted and went on hunger strike at the immigration office, called their relatives and others to hold mass protests, urinated and rioted at the airport to escape the refusal of deportation, and so on. There have been many reports of disturbances by the Kurdish people.

Kurdistan Workers' Party
In 2015, a clash took place outside the Turkish embassy in Tokyo between Kurds and Turks in Japan during early voting for the Turkish general election. Japanese and Kurdish sources claimed the clash began when the Turks assaulted the Kurds after a Kurdish party flag was shown at the embassy.

In December 2008, the Turkish government froze the assets of two organisations in Japan, including the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association and the Kurdistan Red Moon, and six of their leaders, including Wakkas Çorak, the secretary-general of the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association, for their support of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The fundraising event held at the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association office, which featured a flag depicting the founder of the PKK and the PKK's flag, along with the transfer of approximately 40 million yen collected for the PKK, was identified by the Turkish government as a terrorist financing operation. The flag of a PKK-affiliated organisation is displayed in the office of the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association.

The Kurdish festival Nowruz, organised by the Japanese Kurdish Cultural Association, is also opposed by local residents to the use of the park for events because of the PKK-affiliated flags and the singing of the PKK anthem, which sings about the massacre of Turkish soldiers. In March 2024, a permit was granted after it had been denied, Neuroz was held in Saitama Prefecture, with as many as 1,300 people taking part in the event amidst a fierce uprising, under a high alert by a large number of riot police and Saitama Prefectural Police. Also in Neuroz, the PKK sign, Peace, is held up by many participants to create a lot of excitement.

Legal status
Most Kurds in Japan are from shepherding villages in Southeast Turkey and reside in the Warabi and Kawaguchi areas of Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo. Warabi, especially, has been nicknamed "Warabistan" by those who are interested in Kurdish people, culture and issues.

Some Kurdish people arrived in Japan in order to request refugee status; citing human rights abuses in Turkey and Iraq. Nonetheless, so far none have been successful in their application due to failing to meet refugee status requirements. While many obtain visas through marriage with a Japanese citizen, most have obtained "Special Permission to Stay" (在留特別許可) visas, which must be renewed every three months while their refugee application or appeal is being reviewed. A documentary directed by Masaru Nomoto (野本 大) entitled Backdrop Kurdistan (バックドロップ・クルディスタン) documented the legal struggles of one Kurdish family (Kazankıran family: Japanese: カザンキラン, Kazankiran) from Kahramanmaraş Province.

In June 2023, the Kawaguchi City Council passed an opinion calling on the state, prefecture and other authorities to 'strengthen the crackdown on crimes committed by some foreigners' in the city, citing friction between 'some foreigners' and local residents in the city.

Famous Kurds in Japan

 * Vakkas Çolak
 * Owner of Mesopotamia, a Kurdish restaurant located in Tokyo.
 * Serves as the President and Secretary of the Kurdish Friendship Association of Japan.
 * Holds the position of Secretary General at the Japan Kurdish Culture Association.
 * Also works as a lecturer of Kurdish language at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
 * He is married to a non-Japanese woman with permanent resident status.
 * On November 29, 2023, both he and the Japan Kurdish Culture Association had their assets in Turkey frozen by the Turkish government due to their association with the terrorist organization PKK/KCK


 * Mehmet Çolak
 * Vakkas’s brother who had been detained in an immigration facility.
 * Featured in the documentary film Tokyo Kurds.


 * Ramazan Dursun
 * Former provisional releasee, currently on a special permission to stay in Japan with his brother as of 2023.
 * Appeared alongside his uncle Mehmet in the documentary film Tokyo Kurds.
 * In 2023, he testified before the House of Councillors Legal Affairs Committee regarding the revision of the Immigration Control Act.


 * Ozan Uçar
 * Also featured in Tokyo Kurds.
 * Arrived in Japan at the age of 6 with his father Yusuf, a supporter of the Kurdish armed forces.
 * Has lived as an illegal immigrant since then.


 * Mehmet Yücel
 * President of Rojava Corporation, a demolition company in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture.
 * Represents the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association, whose assets in Turkey were frozen by the Turkish government on November 29, 2023, due to his affiliation with a terrorist organization.


 * Deniz Yengin
 * Former long-term detainee.

Japanese/Japan resident supporters

 * Hidenobu Matsuzawa (松澤 秀延)
 * Former Executive Director of the "Knowing Kurds Society," which was established in Japan in 2003 to learn about and promote Kurdish culture and history.
 * Previously served as a Japan Self Defense Force officer and worked as a landscape gardener.


 * Tatsuo Nukui (温井 立央)
 * Currently the President of the voluntary organization "Together with Kurds in Japan" (HEVAL). This organization operates independently from the Kurdish People’s Association and focuses on local activities.


 * Akinobu Kinoshita (木下 顕伸)
 * Holds the position of Representative Director at the Japan Kurdish Friendship Association.


 * Mitsuhiro Kimura (木村 三浩)
 * Serves as an Advisor for the Japan Kurdish Exchange Liaison Association.
 * Also known as a representative of Issui-kai, a right-wing Pan-Asianism group.


 * Gen Nakatani (中谷 元)
 * Currently the Chairman of the Japan-Kurdish Parliamentary Friendship Association.
 * A member of the House of Representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party.
 * Former Japan Self-Defense Forces officer.
 * Additionally, he advises the Prime Minister on international human rights issues and chairs the Japan-Israel Parliamentary Friendship League.


 * Masamune Wada (和田 政宗)
 * Holds the position of Secretary General within the Japan-Kurdish Parliamentary Friendship Association.
 * A member of the House of Councilors of the Liberal Democratic Party.


 * Yoshitaka Shindo (新藤 義孝)
 * Vice President of the Japan-Kurdish Parliamentary Friendship Association.
 * Represents the House of Representatives from Saitama’s 2nd election district (Kawaguchi city).
 * Currently serves as the minister in charge of economic revival as of 2024.


 * Sangmun (Naofumi) Fukushima (福島 尚文)
 * Co-chairman of the "Kurdish Refugee Association with Deniz-san."
 * Also a board member of the Cultural Center Arirang.
 * Former reporter for Kyodo News.
 * Represents the "Stop Constitutional Revision and War March" movement organized by the Revolutionary Communist League, National Committee, which is designated as an "ultra-left vandalism group" by the Japanese police.


 * Kaori Shu (周 香織)
 * Secretary of the "Association to Support Kurdish Refugee M-san."


 * Il-sung Nakamura (中村 一成)
 * Former reporter for the Mainichi Shimbun and freelance journalist.


 * Tsuyoshi Ohashi (大橋 毅)
 * Secretary General of Kurdish Refugee Lawyers Association.
 * Attorney at Law.


 * Taiga Ishikawa (石川 大我)
 * Member of the House of Councilors of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.


 * Mizuho Fukushima (福島 瑞穂)
 * Representative of the Social Democratic Party.