Filipino family granted temporary stay

Wednesday 14th January, 12:57 PM JST

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techall at 03:33 PM JST - 14th January

Yelnats: According to your plan, anyone can sneak into Japan, drop a kid or two, lay low for a couple of years and don't teach your chindren your native tongue and PRESTO........Japanese citizenship for the kids and PR for the parents.
toopool at 03:53 PM JST - 14th January

What I see are parents who are trying to find a safe place to raise a family and get a decent job. What's wrong with wanting the best out of life for your child? I don't think they came here to commence a life of crime. I suspect one or both parents would have been working and sending their child to school to get a decent education. Perhaps you could stay home a fight the swarms of people looking for unskilled labour. Maybe sell a kidney to make ends meet or take your children out of school at age 12 so they can get a job making the shoes you're currently wearing. Kudos for having the guts to bend the law and for successfully laying low for so long.

And in any other first world country, if a child is born there, it is entitled to citizenship. This question wouldn't even register in Japan however: http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=1136025
tmarie at 04:02 PM JST - 14th January

There is nothing wrong with wanting better for your child. There is however something wrong with breaking the law and living a lie to achieve that.

Do you have any idea how much a fake/false passport and airline to Japan cost? A lot. They could have probably had a kid back home and paid for a private school for her there. From my understanding they didn't run to Japan to have the child. The parents ran to Japan to have a better life for themseleves and the child was born later. Nothing wrong with wanting a better life but do it legally.

And from what I do recall, most first world countries DO NOT give citizenship to illegals whose children are born in the country. Up to you to show me a link that states otherwise.
techall at 04:08 PM JST - 14th January

Well, looks like we've found a home stay sponsor for little whats-her-name. By the way, what makes you think these people can't find descent jobs in the Philipines now that they have Japanese language skills? Also, accroding to a lot of stories here in JT daily, Japan might not be such a safe place to live. Coming into Japan on false passports and staying in the country illegally are crimes = against the law.
"Kudos for having the guts to bend the law and for successfully laying low". Are all laws subject bending and thus kudos? The parents are teaching this child that the law does not apply to you.
tkoind2 at 04:18 PM JST - 14th January

Charity? Yes! Think about the girl.

Put yourself in her shoes for a moment. Imagine being her age and having your entire life ripped out from under you. Your friends, the place you call home, your language, the community around you, everything. Think about the kind of mental damage that would do to someone so young.

Imagine yourself having to adjust to a world you have never known, a language and culture you have no familiarity with. Not to mention all the shame and intensity of having parents who caused this to happen.

Why is is so hard for modern adult human beings to have a little empathy and to care about other people. Are you so cold that you can just say well "That's the law!" and toss out any human considerations? Shall we then just turn all things over to machines to decide for us without emotion or human compassion? Because that is what you both sound like.

Her parents are at fault here. Not her. So why punish the girl? It isn't necessary! It serves no social benefit! And it does not accomplish anything positive for anyone concerned beyond blind application of the law.

Laws exist to help us manage society and to equalize treatment. But they do not exist to relieve us of our human responsibility to look at the circumstances associated with any action.

Her parents are guilty. They should be fined and in some way punished. But the child is not at fault and should be protected from the emotional damage this will cause.

As for most countries and immigration laws. My point exactly is that they need to be more flexible. Japan has said repeatedly that it needs more people to have kids and more people to work and pay taxes here. Why not allow people to have a second chance if they can fulfull those needs?

Further. Rich nations love cheap labor. Cheap labor for maids, janitors, factory workers and those to do jobs the locals see as beneath them. Look at the US and the huge illegal immigration issue there. Demand for the labor keeps people coming. But the laws treat them as criminals. Isn't it time that rich nations owned up to wanting cheap labor and created laws flexible enough to make it work legally and well for all parties?

But again I have to say we are talking about the welfare of this child first and foremost and that is to allow her to stay.
tmarie at 04:23 PM JST - 14th January

Just to point out that both of us have already said she should be allowed to stay if she can find a family who is willing to take her in...

As for being "ripped out of the culture, language...." this happens to many kids all the time - military parents for example. Kids adjust better than grownups...

How much money is a decent fine for you folks suggesting this??
albroc37 at 04:44 PM JST - 14th January

yes i agree to tkoind2, since we are dealing with people let us show our compassion. and if i am the law, i would rather punish the people who breaks the law. the law is the basis of our modern world to guide people and nation, so theres no arguing on what and whatnot to do. it has been decided already that they have to stay for a month. but again if i am the law, with regards to the child i will let the child to decide for herself whether to go with her parents or to stay here in japan. theres nothing wrong saving one innocent life.
kwatt at 07:02 PM JST - 14th January

Japan accepted other hundreds of Philipino nurses and caregivers from Philipine, so they are coming soon to work in Japan. Her Calderon parents possibly can stay in Japan if they work as caregiver. Anyone can be caregiver without certificate in Japan but training is necessary at work.
martyman at 09:13 PM JST - 14th January

Well, Japan will set precedence if they allow them to stay. It will prompt a higher influx of illegal immigrants to sneak in the country, have children, then beg to stay longer after they are caught. Philipino's, Koreans, Thai's, come on in!
Pukey2 at 11:05 PM JST - 14th January

One of the parents' biggest arguments was that their daughter could only speak Japanese. I say bull. I know lots of people from UK, USA and other countries and not only were their parents first generation immigrants but they could all speak their parents' native language. Languages as varied as Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Punjabi, etc. And they all went to local schools. Their parents spoke English, so it's not as if they were forced to learn another language. I find it hard to believe that the Calderons would not speak to their daughter in their native language at home. I'm not saying she has to be a fluent speaker, but surely she can get by.

Or perhaps they made sure she couldn't speak another language to up their chances of staying if they were ever to get caught.

I do feel for the girl, but her parents did wrong. And giving your daughter a Japanese name doesn't make any difference.
timorborder at 11:28 PM JST - 14th January

Feel sorry for the kid but no sympathy at all for mum and dad. What a dilemma, if the kid goes back to the Phils, she will not have much of a life if she cannot speak the lingo. On the other hand, I see no reason why the parents should be given any slack. Anybody got a coin, heads they stay, tails they go...... And by such means are such weighty issues decided.
tkoind2 at 08:37 AM JST - 15th January

Martyman. Japan is not California or Texas. It isn't that easy to get here. And not that many illegals get in or stay.

Japan should consider an amnesty for existing illegals if they can meet a simple criteria. 1. Gainfully employed and not a burden on society. 2. No criminal record. 3. Willingness to provide social payback in the form of volunteer work or social services for a period of 5 years.

Illegals would be registered and allowed to stay for up to 5 years and then apply for extension if they have met the requirements.

After this legislation, Japan should implement a revised immigration plan to allow more people to get in who meet Japan's needs and can help bolster the tax base. The easier policies would discourage illegal immigration and allow more qualified and required workers in.

Any future aliens would be severely penalized including jail time or deportation. Children of illegals after this law would be protected by the government and allowed the option to stay in foster care or with legal friends. This protects the interests of kids born here. But clearly says that parents who are illegal will be punished and likely deported.

And Yeah Tmarie I get that kids are ripped out of their environments all the time. But that doesn't make it healthy or right. This kid is Japanese by all measures other than her citizenship. How about we tear you out of your comfortable culture and send you to Afghanistan to adapt to life there? Would you enjoy that or find it psychologically healthy?
tmarie at 10:23 AM JST - 15th January

"Japan accepted other hundreds of Philipino nurses and caregivers from Philipine, so they are coming soon to work in Japan. Her Calderon parents possibly can stay in Japan if they work as caregiver. Anyone can be caregiver without certificate in Japan but training is necessary at work."

There is a HUGE difference between legal and illegal works. Illegals in my opinion should NEVER be allowed to stay UNLESS they are refugees, which these folks are not.

And TK, they now HAVE a criminal record. Why is this so hard for you to understand. They broke the law and are being punished for it. Do you think it is ok for folks to break no drinkig and driving laws?? Where do you start and stop following the law? Japan right now does NOT need any workers from anywhere. Have you not been following the news recently with folks being out of work?

This kid in NOT Japanese. This kid might have gone to Japanese school and has Japanese friends but grew up in a household with two foreign parents. I've been here nearly 10 years, work in a Japanese environment, speak Japanese... I don't claim to be Japanese.

Commenting about tearing me out of here and sending me to Afghanistan is a pathetic comparison. Legal vs. Illegal. And given the chance, I would LOVE to visit the country so...
tkoind2 at 11:17 AM JST - 15th January

Tmarie. At one point in US history the LAW forbade Blacks from riding in the main body of the bus. Likewise it once precluded voting for most minorities and even women. In Germany in the late 30's laws allowed confiscation of Jewish property. And Laws in Iran today allow people to be stoned for adultery.

The existence of a law does not make it right in absolutely all cases. In some cases the law must be viewed with a mind towards humanitarian considerations. And some outdated laws, or laws that have not been working need to be changes.

Noone is arguing that the parents broke the law. We are however arguing that there are humanitarian considerations here that warrant an exception. Why is compassion so hard for you to understand?

This girl is not at fault for here parent's crimes. When I last checked most laws condemn the guilty and not the innocent. To punish the child for the sins of the parent is wrong. And my comparrison to your being dropped off in Afghanistan is valid, in that this is no less dramatic for this young girl who has only known Japan.

Now nationalistic types love to build walls around their nations and treat the entire world as Alien outsiders. Yet that same class benefit from the cheap labor of outsiders who are most often illegal. This imballance of spoiled priviledged class taking advantage of the poor is something I see as equally criminal. Like drugs, the demand fuels the crime as much as those meeting that demand illegally. So both are at fault.

Japan loves the cheap labor it gets as long as it does not draw attention.

Punishing the girl for the parent's sins is wrong. And the welfare of the child should come first. When we allow the letter of the law to dictate our morals and humanitarian sensibilities then we are enslaved and the laws should be overthown in favor of rational humanitiarian rule of law. You and those absolutists who adhere to the letter of the law without moral responsibility or accountability are as dangerous as those who pass repressive laws and then hide behind them when moral accounting comes.

It was perfectly legal to turn Jews over the the authorities in Germany. It was the right and legally compliant thing to do. But it was wrong. It was morally wrong to forbid women the vote in many nations, but such prohibitions were legally valid.

The law must be balanced with human compassion, reason and empathy. Absolute application of the letter of the law is tyranny and is immoral. This girl has done nothing but be born and grow up. To punish her is inhumane, senseless and morally wrong. To support such action against an innocent is beyond contempt.
martyman at 11:30 PM JST - 15th January

tkoind2, you have a very kind heart to be able to care about the illegal immigration into Japan. Here is a rhetorical question, is it possible Japan would begin to think about being Asia's melting pot by allowing all immigrants (illegal and legal) to stay indefinitely? There is a human factor on having a child while being in country illegally and keeping him/her in school to have a better life, but I wonder why the family did not request for political asylum in Japan if they thought the Philippine life was so bad. They could relinquish any ties with their home country and live in Japan indefinitely.