Two groups working to help war-displaced descendants of Japanese in the Philippines acquire Japanese citizenship are redoubling their efforts as time runs out for the aging applicants, many of whom technically remain stateless.
These second-generation Filipinos are the children of Filipino women and Japanese men who migrated to the country in the early 20th century, when the Philippines was home to the largest population of Japanese immigrants in Southeast Asia.
But when World War II broke out, large numbers of the children became separated from their fathers, who either joined the Imperial Japanese Army, were repatriated to Japan or died during the tumultuous times.