By KOSUKE TAUCHI/ Staff Writer
April 25, 2023 at 15:30 JST
Two children of a Kurdish family living on provisional release in Saitama Prefecture were born in Japan. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The government is considering granting a status of residence to children of foreign nationals illegally staying in Japan, which would provide a basic level of life security, sources said.
The Lower Hose is now deliberating a bill to revise the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law that would allow immigration authorities to deport those seeking refugee status after two rejections of their applications.
Currently, deportation orders are suspended if applications for refugee status are pending.
If the bill is enacted as is, children of foreign nationals not complying with deportation orders could be deported with their parents even if they were born and raised in Japan.
During negotiations with the ruling coalition to amend the bill, which started on April 21, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan called for flexibly granting “special permission to stay in Japan,” a type of status of residence, to those children.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, proposed on April 24 including “children’s interests” in the legislation as a factor to be considered in deciding to grant special permission to stay in Japan, the sources said.
According to the Immigration Services Agency, 4,233 foreign nationals who received deportation orders were staying in Japan as of the end of 2022, including 201 who were born in Japan and were under 18 years of age.
They are on provisional release and are not allowed to work or move out of the prefecture where they reside without permission from immigration authorities.
The government and the ruling coalition are considering granting special permission to stay in Japan to the 201 children as much as possible if the revised law takes effect, the sources said.
Further discussions are expected regarding what to do with their parents.
The government and the ruling coalition are expected to accept demands from Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), such as fostering personnel capable of working as refugee inquirers and gathering more information on the countries of origin for refugee status applicants, the sources said.
During the amendment negotiations, the CDP presented a more comprehensive counterproposal to the government bill that centers on creating a third-party organization that screens applications for refugee status.
But it remains unclear whether an agreement can be reached as it would alter a fundamental element of the government’s bill.
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