Japanese-Filipino war orphans seeking Japanese citizenship hold a media conference at Narita International Airport on Oct. 11.

The seven men and women were left in the Philippines after their Japanese parents were deported following Japan's defeat in the war and have not been recognized as Japanese citizens despite possessing documents proving their parents' forced repatriation.

"I feel very happy to have reached my father's country," Sumiko Arichi, who was left behind after her father was killed in an accident before the war, told NHK. Because Arichi does not have a Filipino birth certificate, Manila has refused to recognize her as a citizen, forcing her to travel on a temporary travel document.

The seven planned to file for registry and participate in a symposium before returning to the Philippines on Oct. 16. If granted registration, their children and grandchildren will be given the right to work in Japan.

Some 5,200 war orphans left behind in China have returned to Japan since the 1980s. Many have been helped by Japanese government programs to match them with their long-lost relatives and pay for their resettlement.

About 800 orphans from World War II are still thought to be living in the Philippines.

The Japan Times Weekly: Oct. 15, 2005
(C) All rights reserved