Noriko Calderon is a regular 13 year old school girl in Japan who likes pop music and hip-hop. Yet, Noriko is now facing a huge dilemma after her parents have been adjudged to be deported back to the Philippines because of Japan's "rigid immigration laws". Both of her parents Arlan and Sarah Calderon illegally entered Japan in the 1990s using fake passports. As they had Noriko, Arlan and Sarah raised their daughter to grow up Japanese without learning her parents' heritage or native language. Despite the gainful employment of Noriko's father and their plea about Noriko's situation, the Japanese High Court denied Arlan and Sarah's petition to stay in Japan, while their daughter is told to choose between her parents and country.
CNN reported that activists have long decried "Japan's notoriously rigid immigration laws" that violate human rights. In fact, "an estimated 500 families are in the same situation according to lawyers, who accuse Japan of not respecting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child". However, Japan's Bureau of Immigration is stringent on its decision by describing that the "couple's illegal presence in the country" is an "extremely malicious" violation that "shakes the foundation of Japan's immigration control." Noriko Calderon now is at a loss because despite the fact that Japan is her homeland, she still needs her parents until she's grown enough to care for herself. Noriko's parents preferred that she stays in Japan because her future is brighter there, rather than to go back to the "impoverished farm community" where her parents will be settling. Noriko Calderon will stay with her aunt in Tokyo, who "has a visa that the government will reassess yearly". To read the full news story, please visit the CNN website.
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