Kurds in Japan

Kurds in Japan (Japanese: 在日クルド人 Zainichi Kurudo-jin, Kurdish: Kurdên Japonyayê) refers to Kurdish people residing in Japan.　

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"^[2][3] 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, but so far none have been successful in their application due to Japan's asylum system which is rigid, restrictive and strictly criticized by the UN.^[4][5] While many obtain visas through marriage with a Japanese citizen, most have obtained "Special Permission to Stay" (在留特別許可 Zairyū Tokubetsu Kyoka) 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^[6]) from Kahramanmaraş Province.

A clash took place outside the Turkish embassy in Tokyo between Kurds and Turks in Japan. Some Kurdish sources claimed the clash began when the Turks assaulted the Kurds after a Kurdish party flag was shown at the embassy.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

See also

• Kurdish diaspora
• Newroz
• Turks in Japan

References

External links

• Newroz New Year celebration in Japan

Immigration to Japan
Americas	Americans Brazilians Peruvians
Asia	Afghans Bangladeshis Burmese Chinese Filipinos Indians Indonesians Iranians Koreans Kurds Mongolians Nepalis Pakistanis Syrians Taiwanese Thais Uzbeks Vietnamese
Europe	Britons French Germans Irish Jews Poles Russians Turks Romanians Ukrainians
Africa	Ghanaians Nigerians
Oceania	Australians
See also	Dekasegi Ethnic groups of Japan Gaijin Japanese nationality law Foreign-born Japanese Fushūgaku Alien registration in Japan Illegal immigration to Japan

Kurdish diaspora and regions
Traditional Kurdish areas	Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Iraq Iran Syria Turkey
Asia	Israel Kurdish Jews Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Lebanon Pakistan Turkmenistan
Europe	Finland France Germany Netherlands Russia Sweden United Kingdom
North America	Canada United States
Oceania	Australia New Zealand