On Thursday, chaos erupted in Japan’s parliament as left-leaning lawmakers sparked a brawl in a desperate attempt to block a controversial immigration bill.
Taro Yamamoto, a former actor, talent parliamentarian and leader of the anti-establishment Reiwa Shinsengumi party, rushed at opposition party leaders during a tumultuous proceeding and had to be stopped. shocking twitter video is shown.
The brawl put a moratorium on debate over the bill, but failed to deter it, and it passed the upper house of parliament, known as the National Assembly, with a final vote scheduled for Friday. The Japan Times reported.
According to the newspaper, Sohei Nihi, a lawmaker of the Japanese Communist Party, objected during the debate, saying, “We cannot accept a forced vote on this bill.”
“That’s why I call for a retraction and thorough deliberation,” he said.
At issue is a controversial proposal to overhaul Japan’s immigration rules and end long-term detention of asylum seekers in the country, part of a longstanding debate. .
Progressive lawmakers say the bill, which has majority support from the ruling coalition, does not do enough to protect the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, nor does it improve the situation for those already detained. has faced strong opposition.
Majority leaders have put forward a similar proposal for 2021, according to The Japan Times, but following the death of a Sri Lankan refugee named Ratnayake Ryange Wishma Sandamari while in custody at an immigration facility in Nagoya. , the proposal stalled amid nationwide protests.
Sandamali’s death sparked an ongoing lawsuit.
The new bill aims to strengthen medical supervision of detainees and strengthen training of caretakers.
But opposition leaders like Mr. Yamamoto say it does not guarantee better conditions for asylum seekers, especially children, and fails to address deficiencies in the asylum application process.
