The family of deceased Sri Lankan woman Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, who died in March 2021 at an immigration centre in Japan, is suing the Japanese government for damages, alleging that it failed to provide Wishma with proper food and healthcare.

The family of deceased Sri Lankan woman Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali, who died in March 2021 at an immigration centre in Japan, is suing the Japanese government for damages, alleging that it failed to provide Wishma with proper food and healthcare. According to a report by BBC early Wednesday (July 19), Wishma's sister Wayomi said she would have not died if she got the right medication. "We want justice for our sister. The Japanese government is responsible for what happened to her," Wayomi told the network, adding there should be a change in the Japanese system so that inmates in detention centres are protected. Teacher went to Japan on student visa Wishma, who was a teacher, arrived in Japan in June 2017 on a 15-month student visa, attending a Japanese language school in Chiba prefecture. She spoke to her sisters Wayomi and Poornima over the phone every day. Wishma later moved in with her Sri Lankan boyfriend, whom she met in Japan. Citing an investigative report by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan in August 2021, BBC reported early Wednesday that Wishma stopped attending classes in May 2018 and was expelled by her school the following month. She then started working at a factory Shizuoka and applied for refugee status in September. However, her application was denied in January 2019. And the following August, the woman turned herself to the police, alleging domestic abuse by her boyfriend. But Wishma was arrested for overstaying her visa and detained in Nagoya. She had been in an immigration detention centre for seven months and died on March 6, 2021, aged 33. The investigative report said that she had been suffering from ill health since January 2021 and her condition began deteriorating. Wishma was the 18th foreigner to die in Japanese immigration detention since 2007. The BBC report said that she lost 20kg in detention due to a stress-induced stomach condition, and was vomiting blood in her final days. The report added that the 33-year-old repeatedly asked to be taken to the hospital and was granted provisional release, but her requests were denied. 'When we saw her...': Victim's kin recount seeing her body When Wayomi and Poornima went to Japan in May 2021 to identify their sister's body, they could not recognise her. "When we saw Wishma, her face looked like our grandmother's," Wayomi told BBC. This was the first time they saw Wishma in two and a half years. They were unable to bring her body home because of Covid restrictions. Wishma was cremated in Nagoya. The sisters attended the funeral, but their mother did not. The investigative report in 2021 said that the staff at the detention centre showed a lack of awareness of human rights, and had failed to share details of Wishma's illness. The report added that some detention officers thought the detainees were faking illness to get provisional release. Prosecutors, meanwhile, declined to bring charges against 13 officers at the Nagoya detention centre over her death. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Wishma Sandamali death: Victim's family sues Japanese govt for damages

Japan's government on Tuesday withdrew a&nbsp;bill&nbsp;that would have made it easier to deport failed applicants for refugee status, officials said,&nbsp;after&nbsp;the&nbsp;death&nbsp;in March of a&nbsp;Sri&nbsp;Lankan&nbsp;woman at an&nbsp;immigration&nbsp;detention centre sparked&nbsp;criticism.

Members of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) abandoned their attempt to pass an overhaul of the&nbsp;immigration&nbsp;law, party officials said, which would have meant asylum seekers could be deported&nbsp;after&nbsp;their third failed application.

The government had said the change would solve the problem of long detentions of asylum seekers. Lawyers, opposition lawmakers and human rights groups said it ran counter to international norms.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/japan-to-tighten-immigration-procedures-after-ghosn-flees-country-272192">Japan to tighten immigration procedures after Carlos Ghosn flees country</a>

Japan's treatment of foreigners facing deportation was put under the spotlight again&nbsp;after&nbsp;the&nbsp;death&nbsp;of 33-year-old Wishma Sandamali at an&nbsp;immigration&nbsp;detention centre in central Nagoya.

Sandamali died in early March&nbsp;after&nbsp;complaining of stomach pain and other symptoms from mid-January, Kyodo news reported. She went to police in August for help with domestic violence and was then detained for overstaying her visa, Kyodo said.

Opposition lawmakers had pushed authorities to show Sandamali's family video footage of her taken while she was in custody but that was turned down on security concerns, according to officials.

Criticism&nbsp;of the&nbsp;bill&nbsp;mounted online and one ruling party official told Reuters there was no point in pushing it through, given the growing backlash. Suga's support fell below 33 per cent&nbsp;in a recent poll by the Jiji news agency, reflecting frustration over his handling of the pandemic.

Japan&nbsp;has long been reticent about&nbsp;immigration&nbsp;and asylum, despite an ageing population and shrinking workforce that economists say could be alleviated by accepting more immigrants.

In 2019, just 0.4&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;of asylum applications were successful in&nbsp;Japan, against 25.9 per cent&nbsp;in Germany and 29.6&nbsp;per cent in the United States.

Under the current system, some asylum seekers are granted provisional release from detention centres during their asylum process, meaning they can live relatively freely although they cannot work. Others are held in the centres, where they spend months or even years.

Japan's government on Tuesday withdrew a bill that would have made it easier to deport failed applicants for refugee status, officials said, after the death in March of a Sri Lankan woman at an immigration detention centre sparked criticism.

Japan's government on Tuesday withdrew a bill that would have made it easier to deport failed applicants for refugee status, officials said, after the death in March of a Sri Lankan woman at an immigration detention centre sparked criticism. Members of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) abandoned their attempt to pass an overhaul of the immigration law, party officials said, which would have meant asylum seekers could be deported after their third failed application. The government had said the change would solve the problem of long detentions of asylum seekers. Lawyers, opposition lawmakers and human rights groups said it ran counter to international norms. Also read | Japan to tighten immigration procedures after Carlos Ghosn flees country Japan's treatment of foreigners facing deportation was put under the spotlight again after the death of 33-year-old Wishma Sandamali at an immigration detention centre in central Nagoya. Sandamali died in early March after complaining of stomach pain and other symptoms from mid-January, Kyodo news reported. She went to police in August for help with domestic violence and was then detained for overstaying her visa, Kyodo said. Opposition lawmakers had pushed authorities to show Sandamali's family video footage of her taken while she was in custody but that was turned down on security concerns, according to officials. Criticism of the bill mounted online and one ruling party official told Reuters there was no point in pushing it through, given the growing backlash. Suga's support fell below 33 per cent in a recent poll by the Jiji news agency, reflecting frustration over his handling of the pandemic. Japan has long been reticent about immigration and asylum, despite an ageing population and shrinking workforce that economists say could be alleviated by accepting more immigrants. In 2019, just 0.4 per cent of asylum applications were successful in Japan, against 25.9 per cent in Germany and 29.6 per cent in the United States. Under the current system, some asylum seekers are granted provisional release from detention centres during their asylum process, meaning they can live relatively freely although they cannot work. Others are held in the centres, where they spend months or even years.

Japan withdraws immigration bill after death of Sri Lankan sparks criticism

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Wishma Sandamali death: Victim's family sues Japanese govt for damages

Japan withdraws immigration bill after death of Sri Lankan sparks criticism