Tokyo court upholds deportation order for Thai teenager born and raised in Japan "A Thai teenager born and raised in Japan lost an appeal on Tuesday against a lower court ruling that upheld his deportation order, highlighting the country’s deep reluctance to accept non-Japanese people, even as its population ages and shrinks. The Tokyo High Court ruled that Utinan Won, a 16-year-old high school student living without a visa, should leave Japan. Won’s mother had already left Japan after lower court judges said her son could win residency if she returned to Thailand." Japan Times, Dec 6, 2016. See also the link below.
Japan-born son, Thai mom split by heartbreak legal deal This article looks at the case of a Thai woman who had been in japan more than 20 years, and was living on provisional release, who agreed to return to Thailand in order for her 16 year old son, who was born and grew up in japan, to stay in Japan. The article also looks at the situation of other similar families with members living on provisional release. Japan Times, Nov 24, 2016. See also the story above for later news on this case.
Child abduction treaty gives hope to parents separated from their kids This article explains that the adoption of the treaty by Japan may make it easier to get access to children even for parents whose children were abducted before the Treaty came into effect in Japan and for both foreign parents whose children were abducted to Japan and Japanese parents whose children were taken from Japan. Asahi Shimbun, 4 Apr 2014.
>>> More on the abduction of mixed nationality children >>>
Junior high school admissions to be eased for non-Japanese kids The education ministry plans to allow foreign children living in Japan to enter junior high school without having to graduate from elementary school to give them more opportunities to participate in the mandatory education system, ministry officials said Saturday. The proposed move is aimed at coping with a rise in the number of non-Japanese children as foreigners, including Japanese Brazilians, are tending to live in Japan for a longer period of time, the officials said. Japan Times, June 29, 2008.
>>> More on education for foreign children >>>
Girl chooses Japan over parents A teenager in Japan whose parents are being deported to the Philippines has decided to stay in Tokyo with her aunt. After the family lost a three-year battle to remain in Japan, Noriko Calderon, 13, had to choose whether to stay in Japan or go with her parents. BBC News, 14 April 2009.
Japanese ruling may split family The Japanese government has ordered the parents of a young Filipina to leave the country within two weeks....Noriko was born and raised in Japan and speaks only Japanese but now faces being left behind or being deported. BBC News, 13 February 2009.
>>> More on Filipino people >>>
More children born with a foreign parent: Japan needs to deal with legal ramifications, experts say One of every 30 babies born in Japan in 2006 had at least one parent originating from overseas, according to a recent government survey....While the increase in children with at least one non-Japanese parent will broaden the range of cultural background among the country's residents, a lot more needs to be done to accept and provide legal protection for people from different backgrounds. Japan Times, Aug. 4, 2008.
Foreign mothers fight for children's futures: Strict enforcement of ill-conceived clause in Japan's Nationality Law threatens families This article looks at the part of the nationality law that prevents children of unmarried Japanese fathers and non-Japanese mothers getting Japanese nationality. Japan Times, July 19, 2005.
>>> More on Japanese nationality and citizenship >>>
Bar to kids' citizenship ruled illegal: Supreme Court opens door to unwed foreign moms' children In a ruling sure to affect thousands of others born out of wedlock to non-Japanese mothers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday granted 10 children of Filipino women the right to Japanese nationality. Saying it led to unreasonable discrimination, 12 of the 15 justices on the top court's grand bench ruled unconstitutional a provision in the Nationality Law that states that such children can only become citizens of the mother's home country. Japan Times, June 5, 2008.
Nationality Law tweak lacks DNA test: critics This article looks at criticisms and discussion of proposed changes to the nationality law that will allow children born of an unmarried Japanese father and foreign mother to gain Japanese nationality. Japan Times, Nov. 27, 2008.
'Institutional racism' lets Japan spouses abduct kids Japanese courts should give more support to foreigners seeking access to their children now living in Japan, according to a British father seeking the return of his two daughters to England. Shane Clarke said Japanese courts need to do more for the hundreds of foreign parents whose estranged Japanese spouses have taken children away from their home countries to Japan. Japan Times, Oct. 15, 2008.
Country kids need language support: Growing educational diversity not limited to urban areas This article looks at the need for better Japanese language support for 'newcomer' children - children born outside of Japan whose parents bring them to Japan - especially in the Japanese countryside. It focuses on Yamagata Prefecture which was the first prefecture to encourage international marriages and where 1 in 17 of all marriages are international. Japan Times, March 14, 2006.
>>> More on language issues for multicultural Japan >>>
Japanese-Brazilian families: a failure to communicate This article looks at the problems of communication at home caused when the children of Nikkei ( Japanese-Brazilian) parents in Japan attend Japanese schools and grow up speaking Japanese, not Portuguese, as their first language. It also argues that learning their Portuguese mother tongue is important for positive identity formation and positive learning experiences for these children and looks at some policies to support the learning of Portuguese by Japanese-Brazilian children in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. Japan Times, Aug. 1, 2008.
>>> More on Nikkeijin Brazilians and Peruvians >>>
The half, bi or double debate Following are some of the responses The Japan Times received on the issues raised in Kristy Kosaka's Jan. 27 Zeit Gist article headlined ""Half, bi or double: one family's trouble". Japan Times, Feb. 24, 2009.
Half, bi or double? One family's trouble An article loooking at debates about whether to call children with one Japanese and one non-Japanese parent 'half', 'bi-cultural'/'bi-racial', or double. Japan Times, Jan 27, 2009.
Japanese-Filipino kids await fate: Top court to rule on nationality law tied to paternal recognition An article on the background to a court case about children born in Japan to unmarried Filipino women and Japanese men cannot get Japanese nationality. It loooks at the situation of one of thees children, Masami Tapiru, as well as at the history and situation of Filipino women coming to work in Japan. Japan Times, June 4, 2008.
>>> More on Filipino people in Japan >>>
Citizen’s Network for Japanese Filipino Children We are a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Tokyo. We support Japanese-Filipino Children (JFC) who are born to Filipino mothers and Japanese fathers.
OM conducts project for Japanese Filipino children The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has announced that it is undertaking a two-year project to improve multi-agency cooperation and raise awareness on issues faced by an estimated 200,000 Japanese Filipino children (JFC) in Japan and in the Philippines. abs-cbn NEWS, 03/26/2009.
Japanese-Filipino children from the Philippines-based NGO “DAWN” visit the Center An article about the visit of Seven Japanese-Filipino children (JFC) and three female staff members of the Filipino NGO “DAWN (Development Action for Women Network)” to the National Women's Education Center in Japan. It also descibes the work of DAWN to help Filipino women with children fathered by Japanese men and their children, mainly by supporting women’s independence and providing legal and financial assistance to both mother and her children.
Most Jap-Fils prefer dad's 'love' over citizenship Most Japanese-Filipino children (JFC) would rather meet their fathers in person and be recognized as their children than be granted Japanese citizenship. This article also gives some background on Filipino women who went to work in Japan, mainly in the 'entertainment industry' and on the identity crisis faced by Japanese-Filipino children. GMANews.TV, 08/21/2008.
'Japanese' kids speak out over identity battle Looks at the situation of children born out of marraige to a Japanese father and a Filipino mother who can't get Japanese nationality and at a law suit they are bringing to have the law changed to allow them to become Japanese. Daily Yomiuri, October 2, 2005.
Japanese-Filipino children begin new lives in fathers' homeland Thirteen Japanese-Filipino children and 14 Filipino mothers left for Japan on Monday, realizing a long-held dream to live in their Japanese fathers' or husbands' homeland. SNN helps Japanese-Filipino children, known as "Japinos," locate their Japanese fathers and seek financial support. Japan Times, Oct. 14, 2008.
1% of foreign children not in school At least one percent of registered foreign school-age children living in the country do not attend either primary or middle school, according to an Education, Science and Technology Ministry survey. In addition, the whereabouts of 17.5 percent of children registered as foreign nationals is unknown, making it impossible to confirm whether they are going to school. Yomiuri Shinbun, Aug 3, 2007.
Chinese teenager to remain in Japan: Family of illegal immigrants to be deported; boy gets provisional stay The Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau decided Tuesday to allow the teenage son of a family of illegal Chinese immigrants to stay in the country for one more month, officials said. Zhou Pengyu, 16, currently attending a public high school in Osaka, will be allowed to stay in the country on a provisional basis, but his family will be deported immediately, the officials said. Japan Times, June 12, 2002.
Terasawa K. (2003). 'Labor law, civil law, immigration law and the reality of migrants and their children', in M. Douglass & G. S. Roberts (Eds). Japan and global migration: foreign workers and the advent of a multicultural society. London; New York: Routledge. Available from Chuo Library総合政策 325.252/J35 & Mike.