Although the history of asylum is long, the refugee regime was formally created after the First World War. The regime was reshaped during the Cold War. It was an attempt to incorporate the refugee problem into the context of international politics. However, we are witnessing various challenges and hurdles in dealing with new issues within the framework of the regime. Based on this general background, this presentation will discuss what Japan has experienced as a state party to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Then, it will focus on the role of Japanese institutions of higher education and research, that is to say, universities, in light of recent movements represented by the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and the Global Compact on Refugees.
