Groups urge Japino kids to seek Japanese citizenship

MANILA, Philippines - Lawyers and civic groups on Monday urged Japanese-Filipino children born out of wedlock to claim Japanese citizenship following a landmark decision by Japan's Supreme Court.

The groups welcomed the June 4 ruling, which declared unconstitutional a law denying citizenship to children with Japanese fathers and foreign mothers who did not marry.

Japanese lawyer Hironori Kondo said the ruling opens the door for Japanese nationality for thousands of children in the Philippines.

But Kondo, chief counsel of the nonprofit Citizens Network for Japanese-Filipino Children, said the number of children who have come forward since the court decision is less than expected, with only 20 new registrants with his group.

Kondo said his network in Japan and Maligaya House, its partner in the Philippines, have set up a program to aid children in the complicated process of acquiring legal recognition from their fathers and Japanese citizenship.

Children born to Japanese mothers are automatically granted Japanese nationality, regardless of the nationality of their fathers and the marital status of their parents. However, it is not automatic for those with Japanese fathers and foreign mothers.

Before the court ruling, children born out of wedlock who are legally recognized by their Japanese fathers could acquire Japanese nationality if their parents married after their birth.

But the court ruled that it was unconstitutional to make the parents' marital status a prerequisite for citizenship, making it possible for children with unmarried parents to acquire Japanese nationality if they can show legal proof that they are recognized by their fathers.

The ruling applied to 10 Japanese-Filipino children in Japan — one child being deported for overstaying with his mother and nine others with resident visas.

There are no reliable data on the number of Japanese-Filipino children, but estimates range between 10,000 and 100,000.

In most cases, they are the offspring of thousands of Filipino women who went to Japan as entertainers beginning in the 1970s. In many cases, the men already had Japanese wives. - AP

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