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Japan foreign marriage This article focuses on the marriage of Asian women to Japanese men in rural areas of Japan, looking at the reasons for the growth of this, the system that supports it including the role of local governments and brokers, problems including the trafficking of women and the effects of divorce on the foreign women and children of these marriages, and positive outcomes. Wikipedia.
International Marriage in Japan: Trends in Nationality of Spouses "When it comes to international marriages, Japanese men tend to choose brides from Asian countries, particularly China and the Philippines. Japanese women, on the other hand, are more varied in selecting a foreign partner". Nippon.com, 13 Apr 2018.
International Marriages in Japan Decline from 2006 Peak "International marriages peaked in 2006, but have declined considerably since then. Especially prominent is the massive drop in unions between Japanese husbands and Filipina wives". Nippon.com, 12 Apr 2018.
Embracing Each New Day: Marriage, Japanese-Egyptian Style "We visit a Japanese and Egyptian couple living with their four children in Chiba Prefecture. Over nearly 15 years of marriage the pair, joined together in Islamic faith, have overcome language and culture differences and fled regional turmoil while working to build a bright future for their family." Nippon.com, 29 May 2017.
A Look at International Marriage in Japan This articles looks at the trend in international marriages over the last 50 years and explains that, despite continued media interest in these marriages, there been a recent fall in the numbers and discusses reasons for this. It also explains the most common nationalities of foreign wives and husbands. Nippon.com, 19 Feb 2015.
International Marriages in Japan, International Marriage Partners in Japan, and Arranged Marriages for Japanese Farmers Three short pieces from the Facts and Details website. The data is mainly from 2009 or before so is a bit out of date.
Love and Faith in Japan: Three Stories of Japanese-Muslim Matrimony This article looks at the marriages of three Japanese women to Muslim men: Yuri an architect who married a Turkish man, Muhammet Ali, and now run a Kebab shop with him; Mari who married an Indonesian man, Abdurahman, and now works for the Japan Halal Association; and Chihiro who married a Bangladeshi man, Jahangir and set up an Italian restuaurant with him. Nippon.com, 22 Mar 2018.
Fake Marriages and Filipina Hostesses in Japan by Nakashima Kōshō This piece looks at the situation of Filipino women who work as hostesses in pubs and bars in Japan, many of whom enter 'fake' marriages with Japanese men to Japan because there is no visa for working as a hostess, explains the exploitative conditions many work in which may be a kind of human trafficking, and considers the reason that Filipino women get involved in this kind of work. Nippon.com, 23 Apr 2018.
International Marriage: Japanese-Filipino children pay for their fathers' mistakes "More than 1,000 children of international couples, who were not originally granted Japanese citizenship because they were born out of extramarital relationships, or lacked recognition from their Japanese parents or for other reasons, become Japanese each year." This article looks at the situation of Japinos, children born to a Filipino and a Japanese parent. Asahi Shinbun, 26 Jun, 2012.
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.
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.
Lower House OKs revised Nationality Law The House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday to amend the Nationality Law to enable a child born out of wedlock to a Japanese man and a foreign woman to obtain Japanese nationality if the father recognizes his paternity after birth. The bill is expected to clear the House of Councilors for enactment by the Nov. 30 end of the current Diet session. Japan Times, Nov. 19, 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.
Fixed international marriages often disappoint This article looks at arranged marriages between Japanese men and brides from China, the Philippines, South Korea and other Asian countries in depopulated rural areas of Japan. It explores the experiences of the women in these marriages and focuses on the situation in Yamagata Prefecture, where these marriages have continued to increase. Japan Times, Jan 8, 2002.
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.
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.
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.
Parents driven to 'kidnap' children: Kept out of court, estranged couples' custody battles go to extremes This article looks at the very rare case of Dutchman, Engel Nieman, who was arrested for kidnapping his daughter when he tried to take her with him to visit his dying father. And compares it with the difficulty foreign parents have getting acces to their children in Japan after they are divorced. Japan Times, Dec. 13, 2000.
Canada, U.S. nudge Japan to join child abduction resolution framework Canadian and the U.S. government officials and a law expert Friday urged Japan to join an international legal framework to resolve cross-border cases of child abduction by parents and others. As the number of international marriages rises, there will be a corresponding rise in divorces among multinational couples. Japan Times, March 15, 2008.
Japan's allies urge government to sign Hague convention on child abduction The United States, Canada, France and the U.K. jointly urged the Japanese government Thursday to sign the Hague Convention on international child abduction, which is aimed at preventing parents from wrongfully keeping or taking their children to their countries before and after they divorce. Japan Times, May 22, 2009.
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.