MAEBASHI, Gunma Pref. (Kyodo) The Justice Ministry granted a one-year residence status Thursday to an Iranian female college student who had illegally stayed in Japan for more than 10 years, ministry officials said.
Maryam Amine, 20, of Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, remained in the country under a permit to stay as a foreign student after her parents and younger sister were deported in 2007.
It is rare for the ministry to admit to changing a foreigner's status under a stay permit from a foreign student to a resident, according to her lawyer, Satoko Kitamura.