TOKYO: Japan will curb asylum seekers’ rights to work and detain any not deemed refugees or who have made multiple applications, the Yomiuri daily reported on Tuesday, in a move to further tighten one of the developed world’s toughest refugee systems.
From as early as mid-November, Japan will only allow those it regards as bona fide refugees the right to work. The Justice Ministry estimates that the new rule will effectively deny the right to work for more than 10,000 asylum seekers a year who don’t qualify for refugee status, the Yomiuri said, without citing sources.
Others, including those who fail to qualify as refugees in initial checks and multiple asylum applicants, will be held in detention centers after their permission to stay in Japan expires, the report said.
At present, asylum seekers with valid visas receive renewable permits allowing them to work in Japan while their refugee applications are reviewed — a system the government says encourages people to seek asylum in order to work.
“We are looking at policies, including that in the (Yomiuri) article. We haven’t decided whether to put it into action,” said Yasuhiro Hishida, a Justice Ministry official overseeing refugee recognition.
Japan accepted just three refugees in the first half of 2017 despite a record 8,561 fresh asylum applications, and only 28 in 2016. Human Rights Watch in January described the country’s record on asylum seekers as “abysmal.”
The prospect of the crackdown drew criticism from Japan’s most prominent refugee organization, which said that asylum seekers would struggle to make ends meet without work permits.
“It’s essential that minimum living conditions are ensured while people apply for asylum,” said Eri Ishikawa of the Japan Association for Refugees.
The world’s third biggest economy has remained unwelcoming to immigration despite a shrinking, aging population that has exacerbated the worst labor shortages in four decades and drags on an already slow economic growth.
Japan’s reluctance to accept foreign workers and refugees is in contrast to the policies of other industrialized countries, and has forced labor-hungry industries including construction and manufacturing to rely on asylum seekers with work permits.
Immigration remains a controversial subject in Japan, where many pride themselves on cultural and ethnic homogeneity.
Almost six in 10 Japanese think diversity of ethnic groups, religions and races makes their country a worse place, a poll this month by the Pew Research Center showed.
Japan to reportedly launch crackdown on asylum seekers
Japan to reportedly launch crackdown on asylum seekers
Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover among those sharing Players Championship lead on wild day
- Lucas Glover had nine birdies in his round of 6-under 66, leaving him tied with Villegas and J.J. Spaun
- Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler figures he left a few shots out there — two birdie chances were in the 8-foot range — but was satisfied enough with a 69
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida: Camilo Villegas was on the phone the day before The Players Championship trying to sort out his swing with a coach who is in Singapore caddying at a LIV Golf event. He wound up tied for the lead, a peculiar twist in a tournament filled with them.
Thursday was no exception.
Lucas Glover had nine birdies in his round of 6-under 66, leaving him tied with Villegas and J.J. Spaun, who managed to get around the TPC Sawgrass without a bogey.
Max McGreevy, who tied the tournament record for the highest score two years ago with an 89, had a chance to join them. He was at 5 under and faced a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole when play was suspended by darkness.
Rory McIlroy made four birdies from tee shots that found the rough or the pine straw, including the 18th hole when he punched a shot off the pine straw and out of the trees to 7 feet, putting him in the group at 67.
“You’re just hoping for a backswing and a gap, and I had both of those,” McIlroy said. “Just trying to chip-and-run a 5-iron up around the front of the green and make 4 and get out of there. It was a bonus to get it up on the green and hole the putt was a lovely way to finish.”
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler figures he left a few shots out there — two birdie chances were in the 8-foot range — but was satisfied enough with a 69.
Villegas was on the verge of losing his card two years ago when he connected with Jose Luis Campra, a respected Argentine professional who caddies on the side. He currently is looping for Sebastian Munoz on LIV, which is in Singapore this week.
“It was 9 a.m. here, it was 9 p.m. there,” Villegas said. “We worked for a couple hours. He’s a very, very hard worker. Very few guys give more golf lessons than Jose Campra, and he’s always available for me. So it’s great.”
It was a small tweak on the downswing, and Villegas took that to the dangerous Stadium Course and promptly made five birdies on the back nine to start his round. There were a few mistakes, typical for most players.
That’s what this course does. Slight misses can turn into big numbers.
Chandler Phillips experienced both. He set a Players Championship record with three eagles. He also had four birdies, an astonishing performance wiped out by a triple bogey on the par-3 eighth hole that started with a tee shot into a palmetto bush.
Justin Lower had the best par of all. He was one of 10 players to hit their tee shots into the water on the island green at the par-3 17th. He was the only player to walk away with par, going to the drop zone and holing his wedge.
Max Greyserman wasn’t so fortunate. He put two in the water and had to make a 12-foot putt for his quadruple bogey.
Glover isn’t sure what to make of his record at the TPC Sawgrass, 10 times missing the cut with only two top 10s. But there was no big secret on this day. He hit it where he was aiming and made putts, with birdies on his final four holes.
It stood out amid some surprising scores on a gorgeous day. Justin Thomas hit four tee shots into the water and had to birdie the last two holes for a 78. Viktor Hovland had three double bogeys in his round of 80.
Jordan Spieth had an eagle, birdie, par, bogey and double bogey in his opening six holes. He played far boring golf — which he prefers — with seven pars, a birdie and a bogey on the back nine and it added to a 70.
“That’s the thing about this place,” Glover said. “There’s always some really good scores and always some really bad scores. The margins are razor thin here, akin to say Augusta or Bay Hill. You get off just a little, you can make big numbers in a hurry.
“I happened to have a bunch of good numbers today and a bunch of good yardages and was able to be aggressive and I putted great.”
Glover was not immune. He was too aggressive on the par-5 11th with a wedge and wound up in a pot-shaped bunker for bogey. He dropped another shot on the next hole.
But it was the finish that set him apart — an approach to 5 feet on the 15th, a chip to tap-in range on the par-5 16th, an 18-foot birdie putt on the island green par-3 17th and a shot that caught the slope and fed down to 8 feet for birdie on the 18th.
The 45-year-old former US Open champion is having a late resurgence in his career, particularly impressive from having overcome the putting yips about a decade ago. He never gave up the grind and finally cashed in by winning the Wyndham Championship and the opening FedEx Cup playoff event in consecutive weeks in 2023.
“Just don’t want to be done at 45, honestly,” Glover said. “I deep down believe I can still compete out here at 45 and I don’t want to stop anytime soon.”
McGreevy was among five players who didn’t finish before darkness. He was to resume at 8 a.m., and then everyone gets to do it all over again.
Turkish top officials make sudden trip to Damascus after Syria’s deal with Kurdish-led group
- Ankara intends to examine “how the agreement reached will be implemented and its reflections on the field,” local news agency DHA reported
- Turkiye considers the SDF and its military arm as terrorist organizations because of their links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party
ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s top diplomat, defense minister and intelligence chief paid a sudden visit to Damascus on Thursday, days after Syria’s interim government reached a deal to integrate a US-backed Kurdish-led armed group into the country’s army.
The agreement to integrate the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, into the Syrian government followed fierce clashes that erupted last week between government security forces and gunmen loyal to ousted leader Bashar Assad.
Monitoring groups said hundreds of civilians were killed in the violence in Syria’s coastal communities, primarily targeting members of the Alawite religious minority to which Assad belongs.
Ahmad Al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president and a former rebel, met with Hakan Fidan, Turkiye’s foreign minister; Yasar Guler, defense minister, and Ibrahim Kalin, head of national intelligence. They were accompanied by Turkiye’s ambassador to Syria, Burhan Koroglu.
According to local news agency DHA, an official from the Turkish Defense Ministry, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity, said earlier Thursday that Ankara intends to examine “how the agreement reached will be implemented and its reflections on the field.”
The official added that Turkiye’s expectations on Syria have not changed.
“There is no change in our expectations for the termination of terrorist activities in Syria, the disarmament of terrorists and the expulsion of foreign terrorists from Syria,” the official said.
Turkiye designates the SDF and its military arm, People’s Protection Units, as terrorist organizations because of their links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
As the Turkish delegation was flying unannounced to Damascus, Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented awards for “benevolence and kindness” to a former Syrian fighter pilot imprisoned for 43 years.
The ceremony, hosted by a foundation linked to Turkiye’s religious authority, honored Ragheed Al-Tatari. Erdogan praised Al-Tatari for his perseverance and gave him an award for his “benevolence.”
Al-Tatari was imprisoned under the rule of Syrian presidents Hafez Assad and later Bashar Assad. He had been detained since 1981. There are conflicting accounts for his imprisonment including refusing to bomb the city of Hama and failing to report a pilot desertion attempt.
Over four decades, Al-Tatari was moved among prisons notorious for housing political inmates, including Palmyra prison and Sednaya. His imprisonment, described by human rights groups as one of the longest in Syria for a political prisoner, ended in December when opposition forces freed him.
In a speech on stage, Erdogan lauded Al-Tatari, calling him “the brave Syrian pilot who listened to his conscience.”
UNRWA collapse would doom generation of Palestinian children: agency chief
- For more than seven decades, the UNRWA has provided essential aid, assistance and services like education and health care to Palestinian refugees
- Israel has opted to sever ties with UNRWA, banning it from operating on Israeli soil, arguing that UNRWA can be replaced by other UN agencies or NGOs
GENEVA: The UNRWA chief warned Thursday that if the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees were to collapse, it would deprive a generation of children of education, “sowing the seeds for more extremism.”
Pointing to a dire funding situation, Philippe Lazzarini warned of “the real risk of the agency collapsing and imploding.”
If that were to happen, he told AFP, “we would definitely sacrifice a generation of kids, who would be deprived from proper education.”
For more than seven decades, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has provided essential aid, assistance and services like education and health care to Palestinian refugees.
Lazzarini has described the organization as “a lifeline” for nearly six million Palestinian refugees under its charge, across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
But UNRWA has long been a lightning rod for harsh Israeli criticism, which ramped up dramatically after Hamas’s deadly attack in Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the devastating war in Gaza.
Israel’s allegation early last year that some UNRWA staff took part in that attack spurred a string of nations to at least temporarily halt their backing for the already cash-strapped agency.
And earlier this year, Israel opted to sever ties with UNRWA, banning it from operating on Israeli soil.
While it can still operate in Gaza and the West Bank, it has been barred from contact with Israeli officials, making it difficult to coordinate the safe delivery of aid in the Palestinian territories.
Israel has argued that UNRWA can be replaced by other UN agencies or NGOs.
Lazzarini acknowledged earlier this week that if the only objective is to “bring trucks into Gaza” to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the war, others could step in.
But he stressed that UNRWA’s role was far broader.
“We are primarily providing government-like services,” he told AFP.
“So I don’t see any NGO or UN agencies all of a sudden stepping into the provision of public-like services.”
He cautioned that the loss of UNRWA’s education services could have particularly dire consequences.
“If you deprive 100,000 girls and boys in Gaza, for example, (of an) education, and if they have no future, and if their school is just despair and living in the rubble, I would say we are just sowing the seeds for more extremism,” he warned.
“I think this is a recipe for disaster.”
Crown prince receives Yazeed Al-Rajhi after winning Saudi Dakar Rally
RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Yazeed Al Rajhi, winner of the 2025 Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia, at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.
After winning the title in the cars category, Al-Rajhi became the first Saudi to accomplish the feat in the rally, one of the world's most prestigious motorsports championship.
The Crown Prince congratulated Al-Rajhi on winning a tough competition, featuring a number of prominent international competitors. He emphasized that the achievement should serve as motivation for Saudi athletes to continue developing their skills for future success.
Al-Rajhi thanked the Crown Prince for the gesture.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports, and Prince Khalid bin Sultan, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation, attended the reception.
Saudi Arabia has hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020, when it moved from South America.
More shots fired at Oregon Tesla dealership in ongoing vandalism since Musk began advising Trump
- The shooting caused extensive damage to cars and showroom windows, police said
- Tesla has been a target for demonstrations and vandalism in the US and elsewhere this year
TIGARD, Oregon: Gunshots were fired at a Tesla dealership in Oregon on Thursday for the second time in a week in ongoing vandalism and protests around the country since CEO Elon Musk became a key figure in the Trump administration.
Around 4:15 a.m., more than a dozen shots were fired around the electric vehicle dealership in the Portland suburb of Tigard, according to the Tigard Police Department. The shooting caused extensive damage to cars and showroom windows, police said. No one was hurt.
A similar shooting happened on March 6 at the same location. Police said they continue to work with federal partners at the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives to thoroughly investigate. An ATF explosive detection dog has been used after both shootings to help search for shell casings, police said.
Tesla has been a target for demonstrations and vandalism in the US and elsewhere this year. People have protested Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has been moving to slash the size of the federal government.
Police said over the weekend that six Tesla Cybertrucks at a dealership in the Seattle suburb of Lynnwood were spray painted with swastikas and profanity directed at Musk, KING-TV reported.
On Sunday, four Cybertrucks were destroyed in a blaze in Seattle, but investigators have not said if the fire, or fires, were intentionally set. On Tuesday, the Seattle Police Department said it was working with federal partners to investigate the incident.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was buying a new Tesla to show his support for Musk as the billionaire’s company struggles with sagging sales and declining stock prices.
