Despite the assistance provided by RHQ, the position of asylum seekers remains extremely poor. Whilst social assistance for asylum seekers “in need” (and in practice that is almost all applicants) is available during the processing of their claims this is limited in both scope and duration. Financial assistance is limited to four months, which can be renewed but in practice is both hard to obtain and difficult to renew. Asylum seekers who are seeking judicial review are not eligible for assistance. In addition, mandate refugees whose claims are rejected by the Japanese government do not get any assistance and instead must rely upon a small-scale UNHCR project managed by the Japan Association for Refugees (JAR) and International Social Services Japan. This project also provides for a limited number of non-mandated refugees who are in need. In 2004 it provided support for 434 needy asylum seekers.