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2023 April 19 - 25 TOP3 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP Motomura urges gov’t to provide relief to overstayers’ children in compliance with UN Convention

April 19, 2023

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Motomura Nobuko on April 18 said that the situation faced by visa overstayers’ children who were born and raised in Japan constitutes a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Child (UNCRC).

At a House of Representatives Judicial Affairs Committee meeting, Motomura noted that nearly 300 children are reportedly living in Japan as visa overstayers. She said that foreigners without residency status, including children, are not eligible for Japan’s public health insurance program and have to pay 100% of the medical cost. She went on to say that these people are not allowed to work and freely move out from the prefecture where they reside.

Motomura pointed out that the UNCRC prohibits all forms of discrimination against children which includes discrimination based on their families’ status and nationality. She said that the government treats overstayers’ children in a discriminatory manner, and said, “The government should revise such treatment and provide relief to these children by granting a special permission to stay in Japan.”

Justice Minister Saito Ken in reply said that in the case of an overstayer’s family with small children, it is improper to give special permission only to children, and added, “In this case, an option available for this family is to leave Japan with the whole family.”

The JCP lawmaker cited the fact that an overstayers’ child aged two years was unable to see a doctor despite having a fever of 39 degrees Celsius. She said, “The government infringes on children’s right to live, survive, and develop guaranteed under the UN treaty.”