Japan’s justice minister says his ministry has granted special stay permission to more than 80 percent of the foreign children who were born and raised in Japan but are ineligible for resident status.
According to the Immigration Services Agency, there were 263 children who qualified for the measure to receive the permission as of June this year. The agency said 11 of them had returned to their parents’ home countries.
On Friday, Justice Minister Koizumi Ryuji announced that 212 children of elementary to high school age had been granted the permission. Their family members had no records of illegal entry and no serious criminal history, such as illegal drug use. They also received the permission.
Forty of the children were rejected because they were pre-school age or their family members had criminal records.
Koizumi told reporters that this was a one-time measure and that he hopes the children who were allowed to stay will actively take part in Japanese society. He also stressed the need to prevent an increase in the number of foreign children without resident status.
The measure was introduced after Japan’s immigration law was revised, which enabled authorities to deport asylum seekers if they applied for refugee status three times or more. There were calls to prevent children from being deported with their asylum-seeking parents.
People who were excluded from the measure and their supporters held a news conference earlier this month to urge the government to expand the special stay permission eligibility.
A 22-year-old man, who was ineligible due to his age, said he attended elementary school to university in Japan and got an unofficial job offer, but he cannot work because he does not have resident status. He called the government very nasty.
A lawyer read out a message from a junior high school student who has been deemed ineligible.
The student, who is of African descent, says she is studying hard every day. She says the government said it would grant the permission to many children and their families, but her family was excluded. She asks whether they have been forgotten.
Lawyer Komai Chie said that although she appreciates that a certain number of children and their families have been granted the permission over the past year, it has not been enough.
She urged the government to reach out to people who are currently excluded.