Burma Information Network- Japan (www.burmainfo.org)

EDITORIAL: Breaking up a family

Stop treating all illegal foreigners as criminals. If certain standards are met, these people should be granted proper visa status.

We are drawn to heartbreaking circumstances involving a family that is not Japanese living in Tokyo's low-lying district. At the end of October, the Tokyo Immigration Bureau took Khin Maung Latt into custody for overstaying his visa. Maung Latt is a father and family man who is a citizen of Myanmar (Burma) who worked diligently the past 11 years for a small delivery service company.

Maung Latt first came to Japan in 1988. In 1998, he was served with a notice of forcible deportation. Since he had been active in the democracy movement in Myanmar and opposed the military junta, he sought refugee status here to avoid the strong probability he would be further persecuted or jailed if he was sent back. His petition was refused.

His wife is from the Philippines. She first entered Japan with a forged passport. The couple have two daughters, both born here and brought up speaking only Japanese. One is in kindergarten and the other in fourth grade.

Under detention, it is quite likely Maung Latt will be sent back to Myanmar. A deportation order has also been issued to send his wife and daughters to the Philippines, tearing the family apart.

Gainfully employed and surrounded by Japanese friends and acquaintances, the family made a decent life for themselves here. They were enrolled in the employee pension system and paid their local inhabitant taxes. It seems brutal that the government would deport such people solely on the grounds of their visa status.

``Khin Maung Latt is a critical part of my company, and I am also deeply concerned with future of the children,'' said the president of the company that employs Maung Latt. ``As a Japanese, I am totally ashamed at the approach taken by the immigration authorities.'' Maung Latt's employer has also put his words into action, leading a signature-collection drive for a petition to Daizo Nozawa, the minister of justice, demanding the deportation order be rescinded and that the family be granted a proper visa status.

We fully endorse the petition and express our concern about the timing of the deportation action. The family had previously gone to court over the immigration process to have the deportation notice against Maung Latt reversed. We note Maung Latt was taken into custody immediately after the court rejected his appeal in high court.

Japan is beset by an increase in crime attributed to foreigners. Many critics have said one reason for this is that there are more people from other countries staying here illegally. We naturally support firm steps to deal with circumstances that foster any illegal behavior.

But the immigration authorities seem to have seized upon the public's fear for crime by foreigners. The immigration bureau seems willing to lump together all visa overstayers in Japan, though they are naturally involved in a wide variety of circumstances. The court rulings, effectively supporting this view, are equally pathetic.

It is ridiculous, for instance, to treat this Myanmar-Philippine family, having lived in Japan for years without causing any problems at all, the same as foreigners with suspected links to crime syndicates. There is an urgent need for case-by-case consideration of how people live and conduct themselves in Japan, defining the interests of individuals and families-especially children. If certain standards are met, these people should be granted proper visa status.

In a similar situation, a citizen of South Korea sued to have a deportation order overturned. The Tokyo District Court ruling said: ``The establishment of a lifestyle base, as an upstanding citizen and over an extended period of time, is a factor that deserves positive consideration in the decision to grant special residential status.'' We heartily agree.

Our society will be marked by an increasing proportion of old people in a declining population. In more areas, we will depend upon non-Japanese to get by. The fate of this particular family and the disposition of their case directly affect us all. The outcome will surely reflect the will and attitude of Japanese society to the rest of the world.