By August 2006, the government had recognised 116 Burmese in Japan as refugees, and given special stay permission to another 139.
[7] In August 2010, the Japanese government agreed to accept for resettlement in Japan five families of Karen refugees from Myanmar, numbering 27 people; an additional family of five people chose to decline resettlement in Japan due to the country's high cost of living.
Furthermore, 15 elderly or terminally ill Burmese died in Japan in 2002 due to the lack of funds to pay the back taxes and return home.
Ahhara, the first Burmese library in Japan, was established in Itabashi, Tokyo in 2000, with the aim of collecting hard-to-obtain books and historical writings.
In 2004, the library was moved to Shinjuku to be more conveniently accessible to the Burmese community; its name was also changed to Moe Thauk Kye, which means "Morning Star".