Japan Justice Ministry To Ask For Explanation On Detainee Death's Report
Japanese Justice Minister Furukawa Yoshihisa has acknowledged that a final report on the death of a Sri Lankan woman at an immigration detention facility in central Japan contained content that may have been misleading.
He indicated that he will instruct the Immigration Services Agency to submit an explanation into how the content came to be included in the report during the current session of the Diet.
The agency released the final report in August on the death of Wishma Sandamali at a facility in Nagoya. She had been detained for overstaying her visa. She began complaining of ill health at the facility in January and died there two months later.
The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party pointed out the report appears to falsely claim that the woman had made certain comments.
Furukawa said during a Lower House committee he could see that the way the report was written could cause such a misunderstanding. He said he takes the matter seriously.
Lawmakers have called for all videos of the detainee to be released. Furukawa said the Justice Ministry has taken the stance that it will be difficult to do so, but that the request will be reconsidered.