Japan to offer $810m to support refugees fleeing Syria, Iraq

Japan, which accepted just 11 asylum seekers out of 5,000 applications last year, will provide about $810 million in aid in response to refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq, public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was expected to announce the new aid when he addresses the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, NHK said, but it made no reference to whether Japan would ease its own strict conditions for accepting refugees.

The United Nations said on Friday it could see no easing of the flow of refugees into Europe, with 8,000 arrivals daily, and that problems now facing governments may turn out to be only “the tip of the iceberg”.

Japan’s foreign ministry last Friday announced it would provide grant aid of $2 million to support Syrian refugees and host communities in Lebanon and another $2 million for West Balkan countries such as Serbia and Macedonia, which are facing an influx of refugees and migrants.