A Filipino family called on the Justice Ministry on Wednesday to rescind a deportation order and grant them special residency permission, submitting a petition bearing around 7,400 names.
Family member Noriko Calderon, a 13-year-old attending junior high school in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, said she told a ministry official: "I was born in Japan. I have friends in Japan and have a dream for the future. I want to be allowed to continue studying."
Last November, immigration authorities extended the family temporary permission to stay, but only until Jan. 14. The family's lawyer at the time said it may be possible that the girl, who does not speak Tagalog, may be allowed to stay in Japan.
The family had submitted a similar petition to the government before the extension, along with petitions seeking special residency permission so the girl would be able to continue studying in Japan.
The girl's parents — Arlan Calderon, 36, and his wife, Sarah, 38, entered Japan in 1992 and 1993 using different people's passports. The wife was arrested in July 2006 for illegally staying, and the family subsequently received a deportation order, which the Supreme Court upheld in September.