Protection of stateless persons 30. As detailed above, Japan has not established a statelessness status determination procedure or a complementary protection mechanism to identify and protect stateless persons.22 31. Stateless persons with residence status in Japan can access the same rights as foreigners with the same residence status. However, due to societal discrimination, stateless persons in Japan with residence status may face barriers in accessing such rights. For example, by virtue of a person’s stateless status, they may face discrimination in accessing rental housing, financial services and/or employment.23 32. Stateless persons in Japan with residence status may travel abroad and re-enter into Japan if granted a ‘Re-entry Permit’ by the Minister of Justice.24 However, this document does not comply with the scope and nature of the travel document that stateless persons are entitled to pursuant to the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons.25 33. Stateless persons who reside in Japan irregularly do not have access to public medical insurance and other social security schemes and may face barriers in accessing education.26 The Detention of Stateless Persons 34. Stateless persons who reside in Japan irregularly are at risk of arrest, detention and deportation.27 35. Pursuant to article 50 of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law (Revised Act No. 89 of November 28, 2016), the Minister of Justice has the discretion to grant a person without residence status a ‘Special Permission to Stay’. This permits foreigners living irregularly who have been subject to removal proceedings and have subsequently been released from detention, to reside in the 22 Stateless asylum seekers and refugees who are granted refugee protection in Japan receive protection pursuant the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Cabinet Order No. 319 of October 4, 1951), which is the domestic implementation of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees. 23 “What is statelessness”, 2013 Statelessness Network, Japan, available at: http://statelessnetwork.sakura.ne.jp/wp/wpcontent/uploads/2015/09/Leaflet.pdf (Japanese version) 24 Article 26(2) the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. 25 Yue Fu, Conventions Relating to Statelessness and Japan’s Challenges, in Migration Policy Review 2013, Vol.5, pp.34-50. 26 Japan has acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and therefore is obliged to ‘make primary education compulsory and available free to all’. See article 28(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Japan has also acceded to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and therefore Japan is obliged to recognize the right of everyone to education and that ‘primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all’. See article 2(a) of ICESCR. 27 “What is statelessness”, 2013, Statelessness Network, Japan 11