The main reason children of foreign residents in Japan become stateless is parents who are unaware of necessary paperwork, a government survey showed Tuesday.
This is the first such survey to be conducted by Japan’s immigration agency amid an increase in children without nationality. The survey found 232, or 76.1%, of 305 children who were born between 2016 and 2020 and without nationality before turning 1 year old were stateless as a result of their parents not providing authorities with required documentation.
Tokyo does not adopt the principle of birthright citizenship, and when foreign nationals have children they are required to register the birth at an embassy or other diplomatic establishment with the submission of documents such as passports in order for the child to gain nationality.