Refugee protection and the role of civil society: a comparative study of Japan and South Korea

This study examines the role of civil society in refugee policy by comparing and contrasting refugee protection in two neighboring Asian democracies, namely Japan and South Korea. It argues that, despite their seemingly similar refugee protection trajectories, including their burden-shifting and non-recognition policies, civil societies have led the two countries to take divergent paths in the shape of refugee protection. While the Japanese civil society has taken the lead in adopting global refugee norms at the regional level, the Korean civil society has challenged the government's refugee policies through robust domestic advocacy efforts.