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The Immigration Services Agency said it granted special permission to stay in Japan to 212 foreign minors who did not have residence status and likely faced deportation.

The revised immigration law, enforced in June, allows authorities to deport those seeking refugee status even while their applications are pending. This left at least 263 children, who were born and raised in Japan, subject to deportation.

The agency said its Sept. 27 decision to grant special permission to 212 foreign children, or 80 percent, was based on humanitarian grounds.

However, 40 children were denied permits. Twenty-six were below school age while the other 14 were the offspring of parents whose circumstances were deemed unacceptable.

Some have already returned to their home countries.

Previously, those applying for refugee status were exempt from deportation, but the revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law now allows authorities to deport those who apply for refugee status three or more times.

Concerns have been raised in the Diet over the law, as some families who refuse deportation include children born and raised in Japan who have never lived anywhere else.

Before the revised law took effect, Ken Saito, the justice minister at the time, said that, as a “one-time” measure, special residency permission would be granted to students who were born in Japan and attend school, from elementary through high school level.

However, he indicated that exceptions would be made for children whose parents committed serious offenses deemed difficult to overlook, such as illegal entry or being sentenced to one year or more in prison.

FAMILIES PUZZLED

As of June 10, when the revised law was enforced, 263 children born in Japan had been identified as eligible for deportation, according to the agency.

By Sept. 27, the agency had granted special permission to 212 of them. In addition, 183 of their parents and siblings who were not born in Japan, also received special permission to stay.

The measure applies only to children born in Japan. Children born overseas or those who have already graduated from school, even if they have lived in Japan for a certain period, are not eligible.

Saito told a news conference in August last year that attending Japanese schools would be “positively considered” when evaluating cases, but it remains unclear whether children who met this category were granted permits.

“We will actively evaluate circumstances, such as attending Japanese schools, that are similar to those of individuals eligible for this special measure,” a senior agency official said.

But some families are very concerned, questioning why children who were born in Japan and even graduated from university are not being granted special permission.

(This article is written by Kazumichi Kubota and Takuya Asakura.)

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