*This page contains personal accounts and descriptions of sexual violence and violence or discrimination against transgender people. Please take care and consider your well-being before continuing.

 Introduction

This case is a lawsuit where the plaintiff, as a transgender woman seeking asylum in Japan, is asking for the judge to overturn the denial of her refugee status, after having faced severe violence and discrimination in the Philippines.

The plaintiff sought protection in Japan after suffering sexual violence, threats, and discrimination in the Philippines, but the Japanese government did not recognize her as a refugee. 

This case questions whether Japan’s refugee recognition system appropriately evaluates persecution against gender and sexual minorities.

 Message from the plaintiff

 Plaintiff Aiko  

As a transgender woman, I have lived through years of discrimination, violence, and sexual abuse in the Philippines. Job opportunities for transgender people were extremely limited, and I came to Japan in 1999.

For the first time in my life, I was able to live without the severe violence and discrimination that I had experienced in the Philippines. I also have family in Tokyo, and I want to watch over my niece and nephew as they grow up.

However, when I applied for refugee status in Japan, my application was denied in 2023. Even though persecution against transgender people is internationally recognized, my experiences and fears were not fully understood.

In the Philippines, violence and hate against transgender people continue today. Since childhood, I have faced abuse, sexual violence, humiliation, and discrimination. Those experiences left deep emotional scars that I still carry with me.

I am fighting this case not only for my own safety, but also to challenge the discrimination and persecution faced by transgender people in the Philippines and around the world.

I am deeply grateful to everyone who has supported me so far. I hope you will continue to follow this case and stand with us.

Makibeki ‘wag mashokot! (Don’t be afraid, join the struggle with transgender people!) Wakasan ang diskriminasyon! (End the discrimination!) 

 What is this Lawsuit Fighting for?

This lawsuit aims to ensure that the situations of queer and transgender refugees can be more widely recognized in Japan.

Today, refugee acceptance in Japan remains very low; only 1–2% of applicants are granted refugee status, and this rate is decreasing every year. Furthermore, undocumented foreigners without resident status—including transgender individuals—face the risk of being detained in Japan’s central and regional immigration control facilities, where some have even died due to a lack of medical treatment or by suicide.

In face of this dire situation, there are few publicized cases in Japan where individuals have been recognized as refugees based on their gender identity. Concerning refugee status determinations until now,Japan has had limited standards based on the Refugee Convention about  1) who is considered a persecutor and 2) what constitutes persecution.  This case seeks to expand the Japanese government’s legal interpretations of the Convention.

The rising wave of trans hate, not just in the Philippines but globally, is a form of severe violence that affects legal systems and pushes individuals into desperate situations. Even though it can be a great hardship, Aiko feels a responsibility to speak about her life to tell others about LGBTQIA+ rights and the structures of persecution.

By sharing what is being argued and decided in the court with the people in Japan and the world, we hope to spark more active discussions about these issues.

 Persecution against the Plaintiff and Conditions in the Philippines

From a young age, Aiko realized that she is a gender minority—a transgender woman—and because of this, she suffered abuse and sexual violence at the hands of her family and those around her. In the Philippines, in addition to strong societal hatred toward sexual and gender minorities, blatant harassment by the government and police occurs frequently. There are also recurring reports of transgender women being murdered. Due to the frequency of such brutal incidents and her own personal history, Aiko carries deep trauma. Research even indicates that LGBTQ+ youth in the Philippines face a higher risk of suicide compared to their peers. 

To escape this violent environment in the Philippines, Aiko came to Japan on an entertainer visa in 1999. At that time, she was coerced into a trafficking environment where malicious Japanese recruiters seized her passport, and she was repeatedly subjected to sexual violence by her Filipino bosses. Years later, Aiko successfully escaped that environment and continued her life in Japan. Although she returned to the Philippines a few times to visit her mother, she faced severe anti-transgender discrimination each time she was there. Scarred by years of these painful experiences, Aiko feels that she would have a mental breakdown when facing any further discrimination or violence in the Philippines.

 What is Refugee Status Recognition?

Refugees are those who are forced to flee their home countries to protect their lives from conflict, human rights violations, and other dangers. By being recognized as a refugee, one can receive protection in another country. First, an application for refugee status is submitted to immigration, followed by an examination by the Immigration Services Agency (below, ISA). This is where the approval or denial of refugee recognition is determined. In the case of non-recognition, an appeal can be filed, and the case will undergo review again. The rate of refugee recognition is extremely low in Japan. There are instances where the applicants go to the court to seek a refugee status designation. This case falls into that category.

 LGBTQ Refugee Recognition Trends in Japan and the World

At a global scale, Japan's trends of LGBTQ refugee recognition are very different from those in Europe and North America in particular.

First, let's consider the history of refugee decisions and protection for LGBTQ refugees.

Currently, there are 147 countries that have ratified and/or become parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Anti-LGBTQ persecution already existed at the time of the Refugee Convention's adoption, including persecution against gay and transgender people by the Nazi regime during World War II. Even so, European and North American states also had criminalized homosexuality, so refugee applications on the grounds of persecution towards LGBTQ identity was not actually possible. However, in 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its International Classification of Diseases, and starting with the Netherlands, more countries in Europe and North America recognized gay marriage. From the 2000s, guidelines and principles were developed that designated the Refugee Convention as covering persecution against sexuality and gender identity as "immutable characteristics and identities."

According to Japan's Refugee Studies Forum's report on persecution against LGBT people (https://refugeestudies.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Country-report-the-criminalization-of-LGBT.pdf), there were at least 14 countries that approved refugee applications based on sexuality minority or gender reasons by December 9th 2020: 1 in Asia, 1 in Africa, 8 in Europe, 2 in North America, and 2 in Oceania. Japan is not included in this list, and Asia is taking in a lower proportion than other regions.

In the midst of this global wave of LGBTQ refugee protection, Japan has lagged behind Europe by around 20 years, with its first refugee recognition based on persecution due to sexuality only officially announced in 2018. Public documentation on this issue is limited, but according to the government's list of example refugee approvals from 2012 to 2020, three refugee applicants, one in 2018, and two in 2020, were approved as refugees based on LGBTQ identity i. In March 2023, ISA formally recognized in its Refugee Eligibility Decision Manual (https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/content/001393172.pdf) that persecution on sexual minority or gender grounds constitutes "membership in a particular social group."

In contrast to Europe, it can be said that Japan's rate of refugee recognition based on persecution of transgender, as well as any other gender or sexuality minority, identity is extremely low.

 Lawsuit Claims and Reasons for Plaintiff’s Refugee Status Recognition

The issues in this lawsuit concern eligibility for Refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. 

This involves whether:
1) persecution towards transgender people is persecution on the basis of “membership of a particular social group,”
2) the applicant can or cannot receive protection by their country of citizenship, and
3) the fear of persecution towards the plaintiff is a well-founded fear.

 1.  Discrimination and persecution against transgender people constitute persecution based on “membership of a particular social group.”

Persecution on the grounds of discriminating against LGBTQIA+ identity has been recognized in Japan in recent court rulings on refugees from Uganda and Northern Africa. Further, the Guidelines on International Protection No. 9 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees defines how transgender people, due to their non-conformity to male-female gender binaries in many societies, are often viewed as threatening to social values, and thus are at risk of persecution. This means that transgender identity is eligible as a “particular social group” and existence itself bears a risk of group-based persecution.

 2. Is it possible to receive protection from the applicant's country of nationality?

Concerning being “unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail [one]self of the protection of that country,” legislation that would protect transgender people has not been passed and the current penal code and legal framework has been used to discriminate against transgender people.

Additionally, the direct persecution towards Aiko is done by private citizens, and it occurs rampantly in Philippines society, but the government and police that ought to provide protection, failed to prevent the persecution. 

On these grounds, Aiko shall be considered as one who is “unable to receive protection of the country of one’s nationality.”

The Philippines has banned almost any attempts to correct one’s gender marker on government and civil registry identification documents. Many transgender Filipinos only hold documents that do not match their gender. This difference creates many systematic impacts against their interests, including in situations with police, bureaucracy, employment, education, and healthcare.

For over 25 years, proposals for a Legal Gender Recognition Law and Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sexual Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality Law have been obstructed by cronyism and conservative values amongst congress members, presidential regimes, and Christian organizations.

According to civil society organizations, journalists, academics, UN institutions, and others, police bureaus frequently harass transgender women while ignoring pleas for protection from public discrimination. At the same time, reports continue of trans murders by civilians across many regions. Such reports of Jennifer Laude in 2014  and reporter Ali Macalintal and student Kierra Apostol in 2025, along with apathy from authorities, leave deep wounds in the trans communities.

In the absence of a Hate Crime law, the Philippines criminal justice system rarely conducts investigations with motives of prejudice in mind. Many cases are dropped for reasons including incorrect gender records of the victims. Further, the stigma within conservative politicians’ statements is reflected in media institutions and the public, and maintains acceptance of an environment where transgender people are structurally vulnerable. 

 3. Can it be said that the plaintiff has a sufficiently reasonable fear of persecution?

Concerning whether the plaintiff’s fear of persecution is a “well-founded fear” as defined by the Refugee Convention, it is clear that Aiko’s fear is eligible when considering the country conditions and her personal experiences.

Aiko, born in Quezon City, endured discrimination and persecution on the basis of being transgender since childhood.

After starting to express her transfeminine identity from a young age, Aiko was abused, sexually assaulted, bullied, and derided with hate speech from her family, the neighborhood, and at school. Even though her father and uncles were policemen and lawyers, they intentionally targeted her for violence and propagated conservative anti-trans mindsets. As Aiko was unable to find a nonexploitative workplace, she sought to escape to Japan, but was pulled into human trafficking in the entertainer visa industry, and was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her Filipino bosses. Years later when in the Philippines for only a few days, she was again mocked in public places and kicked out of women’s bathrooms. The trauma and PTSD from these accumulated experiences is deep, and contact with discrimination in the Philippines is likely to throw her physical and mental health into a dangerous state.

Besides fears of these sorts of discrimination and persecution towards Aiko, there are other forms of anti-trans discrimination and murders occurring in the Philippines, such that we can say this fear of persecution extends to the whole of the Philippines.

In the court, we are seeking an approval of Aiko’s refugee status through these claims of both fear of persecution in the Philippines and fear of impending persecution towards Aiko.

 Events Leading up to the Lawsuit

Aiko is from Quezon City in the Philippines. In the Philippines, hatred toward sexual and gender minorities is severe, and she has been demeaned not only by strangers but also by her own family. She has been targetted through numerous assaults and rapes, and continues to live with that trauma. After coming to Japan, she worked at a club and married a person she met there, but she lost her spouse visa following their divorce.

Having lost her status of residence, in fear of facing further persecution if she returned to the Philippines, Aiko applied for refugee status in Japan.  However, her application was not recognized, and even after an appeal for administrative review by Refugee Examination Counselors, her application was still rejected, leading to her current situation. In this lawsuit, she is seeking refugee recognition, asserting that as a transgender woman, she qualifies as a "member of a particular social group" under the Refugee Convention.

(Refugee Examination Counselors System: Refugee Examination Counselors are responsible for re-examining appeals of individuals whose refugee applications were denied in the initial review by the Immigration Services Agency. A written opinion stating that "this person should be recognized as a refugee" can be submitted, but the Minister of Justice makes the final decision on whether to grant recognition.)

 Use of Donations

Lawsuit fees: For printing, stamps, and other expenses.

Travel expenses for legal team, plaintiff, and others: Covering the public transit fees for the plaintiff and legal team to appear in court, as well as compensation for specialists invited to Tokyo.

Statement and testimony expenses: For requests for Philippines organizations and specialists to write formal documents and carry out investigations on conditions in the Philippines.

Medical appointment and certificate fees: In the case that Aiko’s trauma left by her experiences of violence are interrogated by ISA and judges as a lack of credibility, specialist diagnosis documents will be required.

Event and publicity fees: For assisting in holding events and creating educational materials about the trial.

Lawyer expenses:including future appeal hearings.

 Message from the Representing Lawyer

After the ISA refused to approve Aiko’s refugee status, she decided to fight in the court for refugee status with the urgent pressure of not being able to return to the Philippines.

I myself have learned from Aiko about the various forms of discrimination and persecution that transgender people face in society, and I am putting my full effort into this case with the understanding that it is impossible for her to return to the Philippines. Even while Japan’s refugee approval rate is low, Aiko has stood up for herself and for other transgender people to not be discriminated against.

I sincerely ask for everyone’s support. Anyone can attend the court hearings, and Aiko is motivated by your presence.

 Introduction of the Representing Lawyer

 Jun Sasamoto, Attorney at Law 

 Conclusion

We ask for your warm support to continue the fight for the human rights and dignity of migrants and victims of the immigration authorities. 

In this and similar court cases, the court has not granted an exemption from legal fees, placing the burden of lawyer and other expenses on the plaintiff. We must prevent the fight for justice from being dependent upon one's financial resources.

Asylum applicants who are denied residence status in Japan are placed in the most vulnerable position in society. They are refused registry as legally recognized residents with local authorities, they are denied access to nearly all public services, they are refused access to health insurance and refused the right to work in order to sustain themselves. They are forcibly trapped in a dependent state, pressure mounted upon them to give up their fight and return to their country even if that is a life threatening risk. 

We ask for your help in Aiko’s struggle for justice, and the wider struggle of all queer asylum seekers.

Media coverage and explanatory video regarding this lawsuit:

Lawyer JP News Editorial Department, July 29, 2025 “Filipino transgender woman holds press conference seeking refugee recognition: ‘Persecution’ exists in her home country, where murders targeting transgender individuals have also frequently occurred”
https://www.ben54.jp/news/2516

88BitNews, July 28, 2025 “Trial begins seeking refugee recognition for a Filipino transgender woman”

The attorney in charge explains the details of this lawsuit in the video. Please feel free to watch it if you are interested.