Staff writer
In an apparent policy shift, the Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau has started issuing special residence permits to an increasing number of political asylum seekers here while dismissing their applications for refugee status.
Since early September at least 11 foreigners -- 10 from Myanmar and one Sudanese -- have received the permit after their refugee status applications were rejected, lawyers supporting them said.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.