Thousands of 'Japinos' seen to benefit from Japan high court rulingBy ISAGANI DE CASTRO JR.
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak
Thousands of Filipino entertainers or former entertainers who have children abandoned by their Japanese partners stand to benefit from Japan’s Supreme Court ruling Wednesday on rights of children born out of wedlock to foreign mothers.
In an interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, Mel Nuqui, executive director of the Development Action for Women Network (DAWN), said the more than 30-year migration of Filipino entertainers to Japan has produced at least 100,000 Japanese-Filipino or "Japino" children.
She said only a small number of these children have been legally acknowledged by their Japanese fathers.
DAWN is a non-government organization assisting Filipino entertainers and Japinos. It helps Japinos locate their fathers in Japan .
Last year, Nuqui said DAWN called for a registration of Japinos. From August to October in 2007, 1,313 Japinos in the Philippines showed up and registered. When they checked with the family registry records in Japan , she said only 60 of the 1,313 children had been registered in Japan .
Court ruling
Japan's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday it was unconstitutional to deny nationality to children born out of wedlock to foreign mothers, saying it was discriminatory to consider the parents' marital status.
The ruling, which ended years of court battles, could lead to citizenship for thousands of illegitimate children in Japan, which is home to many foreign entertainers from the Philippines and elsewhere.
"If we look at the significance of nationality in guaranteeing basic human rights, we cannot afford to ignore discrimination against children," presiding judge Niro Shimada said, overturning a lower court ruling.
Ten children of Filipina mothers had filed suit seeking Japanese nationality because Japanese men -- who were married to other women -- had acknowledged they were their fathers.
But the children, even though they were born in Japan and only speak Japanese, were not granted nationality because the fathers acknowledged them only after they were born.
Previously under Japanese law, the father had to confirm the child as his before an out-of-wedlock birth.
According to official statistics, approximately 2,800 children born out of wedlock from foreign mothers reside in Japan, among whom more than 2,000 have Japanese fathers.
Japan, which largely regards itself as ethnically homogeneous, has strict controls on immigration. The country has rejected the idea of large-scale immigration even though it has one of the world's lowest birthrates.
"This is a welcome development. Now, as long as the father recognizes the child, the child may be able to get Japanese citizenship," Nuqui said.
She said the ruling advances the rights of children and is consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The majority of entertainers who worked in Japan from the early seventies until 2005 were Filipinos.
In March 2005, Japan imposed stricter rules on entry of foreign entertainers in response to a US State Department report that placed Japan on a list of countries not doing enough to fight trafficking. – with a report from AFP
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