2. < Case 4 > Refugees with Myanmar nationality and their children (1) The Myanmar government’s approach It has been known to the authors that from 1982 to 2016, the number of people from Myanmar who applied for asylum in Japan was 6,856, and among them, 329 were recognized as refugees.137 In addition, there are greater numbers of people who are not recognized as refugees but are given protection on humanitarian grounds.138 Article 16 of the 1982 Citizenship Law of Myanmar provides that a citizen who leaves the State permanently, or who acquires the citizenship of or registers himself as a citizen of another country, or who is issued with a passport or a similar certificate of another country ceases to be a citizen. It was reported in the media that in June 2013, the Director General of the Bureau of Immigration and National Registration of Myanmar stated that people who had previously obtained a certificate of registration (citizenship scrutiny card) and whose passports have expired while overseas, and those without passports, and those who possess foreign passports, automatically lose their status as a national of Myanmar and their previous certificate of registration is null even if they do not possess another nationality. It was then announced that they must make an application at the Bureau of Immigration and National Registration in order to reinstate their status as nationals.139 However, the details are not clear. If this media report is true, many of the recognized refugees from Myanmar would be likely to be treated as having lost their nationality under the above-mentioned policy of the Myanmar government and would have difficulty in regaining their nationality unless they return to Myanmar and undertake certain procedures. In fact, many of the Myanmar refugees who have been recognized in Japan so far have avoided contact with the Embassy of Myanmar. Therefore, it would be difficult for them to take the necessary procedures for regaining nationality. Moreover, many of their children born in Japan have not been registered with the Embassy of Myanmar. With the recent significant changes in the situation in Myanmar, there are new developments since 2012 among Myanmar refugees in Japan, such as that some of them have obtained “social visas” (which are issued to foreigners who had previously possessed 137 Zenkoku Nanmin Bengodan Renraku Kaigi [Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees], “Nanmin Nintei Shinseisuu Oyobi Ninteino Suii, Chiiki Betsu/Shusshinkoku Betsu [Applications and Recognition of Refugee Status by Region and Country of Origin]”, at http://www.jlnr.jp/stat/2014/rsd_stat_japan_2014_02.pdf; Ministry of Justice, “Heisei 28 Nenniokeru Nanmin Ninteishasuutounitsuite, Beppyou 1, Kokuseki Betsu Nanmin Nintei Shinseisuuno Suii [Refugee Recognition in 2016, Table 1, Applications for Refugee Status by Nationality]”, at http://www.moj.go.jp/content/001221345.pdf. 138 People from Myanmar constitute the largest group of refugees in Japan since the 1990s. 139 Myanmar Daily Post, “Kokusekiwo Futatabi Shinseishita Mononouchi 10 Meini Hajimete Kyokagaderu [Ten Obtain Permission for the First Time among Those Who Have Re-applied for Nationality]” (27 December 2013, original in Myanmar). 63