Tokyo: Japan accepted just 28 refugees last year when a record number applied for asylum, a government document dated for releasetoday showed, throwing a spotlight on the nation's reluctance to accept foreigners.
In the year 2016, 10,901 people sought asylum in Japan, up 44 percent from a year earlier, when the country accepted 27.
Of the accepted refugees, seven were from Afghanistan, four from Ethiopia and three from Eritrea, according to the document.
It was not clear whether any Syrians had applied for, or won, asylum.
Human Rights Watch last month called Japan's record on asylum seekers "abysmal," urging it to accept more and strengthen protection for migrant workers.
Japan government's low acceptance of refugees is in contrast to European countries, which last year saw hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers arrive from war- and poverty-stricken countries such as Syria, Iraq and Eritrea.
