While Japan ratified the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees in 1981, the country has been widely criticized for its closed-door policy on refugees. Entering the 21st century, resettlement has drawn close attention of the international community for its critical and complementary role in the system of international protection and burden-sharing, offering a durable solution to those refugees for whom neither voluntary repatriation nor local integration is possible. Under the circumstances, Japan has been spotlighted for being the first country in East Asia, introducing a resettlement program in 2010. In 2010~2012, forty five Karen refugees from the Mae La Camp in Thailand resettled in Japan through the country`s pilot project of resettlement. In 2012 the Japanese government announced its plan to extend the resettlement project to two more years. Focusing on the empirical case study of the Japan`s precedent for resettlement, this paper examines the background, details and policy implications of the current resettlement program. Although there needs to be further review of the effectiveness of the program and the local integration of resettled refugees, the Japan`s resettlement program could provide good starting point for the improvement of refugee rights and burden-sharing in East Asia in which no concrete regional agreement on refugee protection is yet established.