Category J [State succession II]: Persons whose country of previous nationality has gone through State succession who cannot have their possession of the nationality of the successor State or the predecessor State confirmed (Sample cases from the Soviet Union/Georgia) Category J covers statelessness that arises when the previous country of nationality has gone through State succession. While Category B covers persons whose statelessness arose while the persons concerned were in Japan, this category covers persons whose statelessness occurred while outside Japan and who subsequently came to Japan. < Case 18 > involves a person who is an ethnic minority born in the former USSR (the territory currently forming part of Georgia) who crossed the border by walking during the turmoil after the break-up of the USSR. He came to Japan with a forged passport and was put under the deportation procedure. His or her nationality status was determined by the Japanese Immigration Bureau to be “stateless”. However, the destination country for the deportation order issued by the Immigration Bureau was designated as “Georgia,” the execution of which is difficult. 1. < Case 18 > Case summary A was born in the 1960s in Georgia, which was part of the USSR at that time, and was a national of the USSR. Since around 1989, xenophobic movements towards nonGeorgian ethnic minorities started to gain support with the rise of anti-USSR and Georgian patriotism.222 In 1991, this movement declared the independence of Georgia from the USSR, and soon after the USSR dissolved. Georgia fell into a state of internal war between the regime, promoting ethnic-Georgian centralizing policies, and opposing forces. While the security situation in Georgia worsened and the turmoil was still ongoing, A, an ethnic minority, felt his or her security threatened, and A left Georgia by walking across the border with Russia. A went to Europe from there, and after staying in different countries A came to Japan with a forged passport and applied for asylum. A was not recognized as a refugee and was issued with a deportation order with his country of nationality written as “Stateless” and the destination country for deportation “Georgia”. A however did not wish to be deported to Georgia. Furthermore, the relevant regional immigration bureau had decided on the deportation to Georgia without checking with the Georgian authorities on the possibility of his re-admission. A filed a suit with the Tokyo District Court, seeking the cancellation of the decision not to recognize him as a 222 Hiroki Maeda, Gurujia Gendaishi [Modern History of Georgia], Eurasia Booklet No.131 (Touyou Shoten, 2009), pp.12-14. 116