Japanese lawmakers have begun deliberating amended immigration bills, two years after original bills were scrapped following the death of a Sri Lankan woman at an immigration facility in the country.

The deliberations kicked off in a Lower House plenary session on Thursday.

The latest bills are partially different from those the government submitted two years ago.

The 2021 bills were scrapped as they faced criticism from opposition parties. The death of Wishma Sandamali during her detention in the same year was considered to be a factor as well.

The government has decided to keep key pillars of its immigration policy intact in the latest bills.

One of them is to prevent foreign nationals from evading deportation by repeatedly applying for refugee status. They capitalize on the rules stipulating that deportation orders are suspended while refugee-status applications are being processed. The government has proposed making the rules not applicable for those who applied more than two times.

The second is to allow foreign nationals to live outside of the immigration facilities as long as they are under the oversight of designated supervisors.

The third is to set up a new scheme that would grant quasi-refugee status to people fleeing conflict in their home countries even if they do not meet Japan's criteria as refugees.

The differences from the 2021 bills include a requirement to review whether an individual should be kept in a facility every three months, in order to avoid long-term detention, and abolishing the supervisors' periodic reporting duties.

During Thursday's session, an opposition lawmaker insisted that the government's proposals would make the country's immigration system worse. He said the government should set up a third-party entity to reform the refugee recognition system instead.

Justice Minister Saito Ken said the government reintroduced the bills because the country is facing pressing issues, such as deportation evasion and long-term detention. He ruled out the establishment of an independent agency, saying the work to recognize refugees should be handled at immigration offices since it is closely related to other immigration matters.

Two younger sisters of the deceased Sri Lankan woman were in the Diet building to listen to the debate. One of them said the problems surrounding her sister's death have yet to be settled. She added that lawmakers should watch the video of Wishma during her detention before discussing the legislation.