One of every 30 babies born in Japan in 2006 had at least one parent originating from overseas, according to a recent government survey.

The survey by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry found that the mother, father or both parents of 35,651 babies born here originated from countries other than Japan. This represents about 3.2 percent of the 1.1 million babies born nationwide in 2006.

The survey indicates that an increasing number of foreign nationals coming to Japan for employment or study are settling in the country, experts said.

While the increase in children with at least one non-Japanese parent will broaden the range of cultural backgrounds, among the country's residents, a lot more needs to be done to accept and provide legal protection for people from different backgrounds, they said.