The bereaved family of a Sri Lankan woman who died while detained at an immigration facility in Japan is seeking the disclosure of all footage recorded during her detention.

The new court case involving the death of 33-year-old Wishma Sandamali in 2021 began at the Tokyo District Court on September 30.

In a separate lawsuit over compensation against the Japanese government concerning Wishma's death at the immigration facility in Nagoya, central Japan, only about five hours of the total of some 295 hours of her surveillance footage was submitted as evidence.

In May, the family filed an additional lawsuit seeking full disclosure of all the videos.

In the first oral hearing on September 30, Wishma's younger sister asserted that the Japanese government refuses to disclose the remaining footage because it contains inconvenient truths for immigration authorities.

She said the release of the videos is necessary to uncover the truth about Wishma's death.

The Japanese government countered that disclosing the footage would pose a security risk and asked the court to dismiss the family's claim.