In a rare reversal of a deportation decision in the absence of a court ruling, the government has granted a woman from South Asia who had unsuccessfully sought special permission to stay as a refugee, her lawyer said.
The government issued a special permit effective Oct. 9 after the Osaka High Court, which had been hearing a suit filed by the 46-year-old woman, said it should be settled out of court. The woman, who declined to be named or her country of origin to be identified, dropped the lawsuit in July.
The woman entered Japan in 2007 because she feared for her safety due to political persecution, according to her suit. She was then presented with a deportation order in 2009 for staying in the country illegally.