A Nigerian man has died after going on a hunger strike in a Japanese immigration centre.
The Nigerian died in June, Japanese immigration authorities said on Tuesday.
The unnamed man, in his 40s, died on June 24 after falling unconscious at Omura Immigration Centre and being taken to a hospital in southern Japan.
Reports claimed the Nigerian, who was protesting against being detained for over three years, had been on a hunger strike for at least three weeks. He was said to have lost 13 kg during the time.
Lawyers affiliated to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations said it was the 14th death in Japanese immigration detention facilities since 2007.
The man entered Japan in 2000 and was convicted of crimes including theft, reports said.
He was released from jail on parole in 2015 but was moved to a detention facility in western Japan’s Osaka where he received an extradition order, it said.
He had been detained at the Omura centre since 2016.
“The situation surrounding detention has been deteriorating,” the Japan Federation of Bar Associations said in a statement in August, urging the authorities to investigate the death.
After the Nigerian man’s death, immigration authorities began releasing detainees on long-term hunger strikes and then re-arresting them two weeks later, the group said.
Rights campaigners have criticised the practice as an inhumane attempt to show other detainees that their protests will not result in permanent release.
Human rights campaigners have long criticised conditions at Japanese detention centres, including how guards respond to medical emergencies.
Japan admits very few refugees and asylum seekers, placing a significant burden of proof on those who seek refuge and often detaining migrants for lengthy periods while their cases are processed.
