Overturning a lower court ruling, the Tokyo High Court on Friday ruled that a Japan-born Filipino girl given a deportation order in 2012 should be allowed to stay, on account of her deep integration with Japanese society.

The rare immigration ruling might herald a shift in Japan's tendency to hastily deport illegal but deeply settled immigrants, lead lawyer Yuka Kubota said after the ruling.

Last December, the Tokyo District Court validated a deportation order issued to the girl, then 14, and her Filipino parents in 2012. While finding the girl's deportation order illegal, the high court judged the orders issued to her parents as valid.