In uncommon transfer, Japan grants asylum to soccer participant from Myanmar

An expert soccer participant from Myanmar who publicly opposed the navy junta that staged a coup in his nation received asylum in Japan on Friday, a uncommon improvement in a rustic recognized for its notoriously unwelcoming immigration system.
The athlete, Pyae Lyan Aung, got here to Japan with Myanmar’s nationwide staff for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Asia this yr. While on the sector earlier than the primary match, he flashed a three-fingered salute — a gesture made in style by the film “The Hunger Games” that has turn into an indication of resistance in his dwelling nation.

His small protest triggered intense information protection that put him in a nationwide highlight. The gesture additionally introduced concern that his life could possibly be at risk if he returned dwelling. Shortly earlier than boarding a flight again, he requested Japanese immigration brokers at passport management for asylum, playing that he was higher off taking an opportunity on Japan’s system than the forgiveness of the junta, which has brutally crushed the opposition since its Feb. 1 coup.
Japan accepts lower than 1% of asylum-seekers annually, and it accredited solely 47 asylum functions final yr. The system got here in for blistering criticism after the demise of a Sri Lankan migrant in a detention cell. Pyae Lyan Aung’s case additionally put consideration on the reluctance of the Japanese authorities to take a agency stance in opposition to the junta’s actions in Myanmar. While Japanese officers have denounced the navy’s actions, they’ve declined to hitch the United States and different nations in making use of sanctions. More than 1,000 individuals have died by the hands of Myanmar’s safety forces, in response to a tally stored by a monitoring group that tracks the killings. Thousands are in detention.
Japan has, nonetheless, allowed individuals from Myanmar to use for visas on a provisional foundation. Pyae Lyan Aung obtained a certificates Friday testifying to his asylum standing from the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau.

Speaking to reporters Friday, he thanked Japan for approving his asylum utility and mentioned he had discovered a place with a third-tier Japanese soccer membership within the port metropolis of Yokohama and could be searching for extra work to help himself.
“Now that I’ve received residence status, I can live worry free here in Japan,” he mentioned, including that he had not given up on his dream of going skilled full time.
Pyae Lyan Aung’s lawyer, Yoshihiro Sorano, praised the Japanese authorities for its determination however famous that there have been nonetheless many extra individuals from Myanmar in Japan who may face political persecution in the event that they returned dwelling.
“It’s Japan’s duty to think of a way that Myanmar can build a society that doesn’t produce refugees,” he mentioned.