171 Foreign Children in Japan Get Special Residence Permission

Tokyo, Sept. 27 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Immigration Services Agency said Friday that it has given special residence permission to 171 foreign children who were born in Japan but do not qualify as residents of the country.

The agency also permitted 147 family members of those children to stay in Japan.

The decision came after the agency screened 201 such foreign children. Of them, 21 children were denied permission for family and other reasons and the other nine left Japan voluntarily.

The Japanese justice minister is allowed to give special residence permission to foreigners who do not qualify as residents of the country. In August 2023, then Justice Minister Ken Saito announced plans to use the authority to bail out such foreign children who speak only Japanese.

The review covered foreign children born in Japan who receive education in elementary, junior high or senior high school in the country and their family members.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]