The Tokyo District Court on Friday granted an Iranian family of four in Gunma Prefecture who have overstayed their visas for more than 13 years permission to stay in Japan, citing humanitarian reasons.
Presiding Judge Masayuki Fujiyama approved a suit filed by 40-year-old Amine Khalil, his wife and two daughters, seeking the cancellation of a decision by the Justice Ministry's Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau to deport them.
"They have already set up a basis for living (in Japan) as good citizens, and forcibly expelling them would go against humanity and would correspond to an abuse of discretionary power," he said.