For more than 15 years, a Kurdish man in his 50s who fled persecution in Turkey has been living in Japan. Since he is prohibited from working in the country, he has no income and must rely on his wife, who is also a foreign national and works at a factory to support him and their child.
Amid the pandemic, her work hours have been cut and the family has been forced to borrow money to pay rent.
“I want to be recognized as a refugee so I will be able to work, get national health coverage and go to the hospital,” the man said in fluent Japanese, during a consultation event for Kurds in November in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture.