Japan Nationality Recognized for Child of Afghan Refugees; Court Rules Parents Were Stateless When Child Was Born

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, September 13, 2024

NAGOYA — The Nagoya High Court has ruled that a child born to Afghan refugees can have Japanese nationality, overturning a family court decision.

The high court on Wednesday overturned the decision by the Toyohashi branch of the Nagoya Family Court and ordered that a 1-year-old girl whose parents fled Afghanistan be allowed to create a new family register in Japan. According to the girl’s attorney, this appears to be the first time that a child whose parents are Afghan natives has been permitted to be registered in a newly created family registry.

Presiding Judge Yasuhiro Hasegawa said that although the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist group invaded Kabul and declared it had taken power in September 2021, the group lacks the requirements to be a nation, and it has not been recognized by other countries, including Japan.

When the girl was born in Aichi Prefecture in 2022, her parents had no nationality, Hasegawa said.

The Nationality Law stipulates that a child who was born in Japan and whose parents are stateless is a Japanese national. Given that, the court accepted the plaintiff’s demands.

According to lawyer Yasuyuki Nagai, the girl’s parents have been recognized as refugees and currently have the status of “long term residents” along with their daughter.

The number of Afghan people with refugee status was 147 in 2022 and 237 in 2023, according to the Immigration Services Agency.

“There are other displaced people who have been in the same situation,” Nagai said. “[This ruling] has paved the way for the children of such people to be able to live as Japanese nationals.”