Children in Philippines eye Japanese nationality

Manila: Thousands of children living in the Philippines will be able to claim Japanese citizenship after Japan's Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to base their nationality on their parents' marital status.

Hironori Kondo, a Japanese lawyer, told reporters in Manila on Monday there were at least 10,000 Filipino-Japanese children currently in Japan who could potentially benefit from last month's ruling, and even more in the Philippines.

"There are many more of those mothers who had children with Japanese men who came back to the Philippines," he told a forum of foreign correspondents.

Since the late 1970s, thousands of Filipino women have gone to Japan to work as entertainers. Many had children with Japanese men.

The migration resulted in a whole generation of Filipino-Japanese children raised solely by their mothers, often in poverty and with no connection to Japan.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, the Japanese government is set to amend its nationality law to recognise children born out of wedlock between foreigners and its citizens.

The road to Japanese nationality, however, will still be complicated. Children must have proof of recognition from their Japanese parent and they must be under 20 years old when applying for nationality.

An amendment to the nationality law must still pass Japan's legislature and could have additional requirements.

Filipino-Japanese children living both in Japan and Philippines have been fighting for recognition from their paternal homeland for decades.

Mikas Matsuzawa, the 21-year-old leader of an organisation of young Filipino-Japanese children, said recognition by their fathers was more of an issue for many of her peers than nationality.

Matsuzawa, who was born and raised in Manila and is now a student at the University of Philippines, met her Japanese father for the first time in April this year.

"For me, it is enough to be recognised by my father", she said.