Japan has come under fire from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees over the deportation last week of two Kurdish asylum-seekers who had been granted refugee status by the UNHCR.

The high-profile case has highlighted the contrast between Japan’s humanitarian policies abroad and its tough refugee and asylum-granting policy. It has also emerged at a time when Junichiro Koizumi, the prime minister, is seeking a larger role for Japan on the international stage in a bid to win a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.