Noriko Calderon to stay in Japan
Noriko Calderon’s parents, who will be deported in April, have chosen to leave their daughter behind in Japan (and an English language article about the case has chosen to report the fact that she had relatives in Japan who can take care of her):
The justice ministry, meanwhile, revealed Friday that it intended to grant Noriko, who only speaks Japanese and attends a junior high school in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, special permission for residence later this month so she can continue to go to school in Japan.
“I am not happy at all,” Noriko said, explaining that her true wish was to stay in Japan with her parents.
Now with her parents set to leave in April, just days after Noriko begins her second year at middle school on April 8, the girl will live with her aunt and uncle who have agreed to move to Saitama Prefecture from Tokyo to take care of her.
The Japanese government has already stated that it will grant special permission for Noriko’s parents to occasionally visit her in Japan (illegal immigrants are usually banned entry for years after deportation).
In a related story, an Iranian girl who was left behind in Japan after parents were deported several years ago under similar circumstances has been granted residency after completing her studies at a junior college.
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
- Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)
Full RSS Feed
I feel no sympathy for this situation. Her parents knew what risks they were taking when they chose to illegally move to Japan. As unfortunate and unfair it is for the girl, I see no other outcome. If the government harbored to the ideas of allowing the parents to stay, then that’s sending a message saying it’s ok to illegally move to Japan and raise families there for residence permission.
Agreed. Funny how the fact that she had close relatives in Japan was never widely publicized before.
i’m happy for her
there are all sorts of opinions even though its in the philippines. interesting.
http://www.mb.com.ph/node/198570
So she’s apparently happier choosing her friends over growing up with her parents and learning a new language. I’d actually prefer Japan did deport her as well, considering her situation it’s not like she’d have much better opportunities education/job wise if she simply came back when she’s older.
They should report her because you don’t like the choice she made? If she prefers to stay in Japan, that’s her business. If I were her, I would have made the same decision.
*deport her.
that’s sad, but good that she can stay in Japan.
They say that she can only speak Japanese.
So the parents hate their country so much(or love Japan) that they lied and became criminals to enter Japan.
Then when they had a child they didn’t teach her their language.
For the first 6 or more years until she could learn to speak Japanese they did not talk to her.
Japan needs more criminals and selfish people like this. And thanks to the court ruling(and press coverage) there will definitely be more.
It’s not uncommon for children of immigrants to not speak their parent’s language and for the the parents to not teach it for fear of their children being percieved as different.
Especially with the countless Filipino friends and acquaintances I have in the US who speak no Tagalog because their parents feared their children growing up with a “strange” accent at the expense of speaking a second language. Same for many Mexican friends of mine who barely understand Spanish and don’t speak a word.
As for the actual situation, I think it’s fortunate that Noriko has guardians in Japan and I also wonder why this fact has not been reported before.
I think this was the best possible outcome, given that Noriko’s parents dids a stupid thing and as expected are paying for that.
The government did, in my opinion, the right thing: illegal immigrants will still be deported and that’s sending the right message. On the other hand the girl, who had no choice and *no guilt*, stays.
On a side note, I didn’t know she had other relatives. I don’t remember reading about that. Had that been mentioned before, my poll’s outcome would have been a little more biased towards the parent’s deportation.
Never in a million years would I leave my daughter. Never compromise.
And I hope you would also never in a million years put your daughter through what Arlan and Sara Calderon put Nriko through.
With parents like that, who needs enemies…
Well it is so easy to say Deport her, I wonder if you guys have the same situation. What would be your answers???
Personally, I would like to think most of us are not so stupid, underhanded and selfish as to put ourselves and/or our loved ones in such a situation.
Yea, I dont really think the argument of “well, what if you were in HER shoes” really is a fair question here.
1) Its not really Noriko’s fault for her being in the situation that she is in, its her parent’s fault for breaking a law
2) I myself moved a lot as a child, and quite frankly, I may have not liked it at the time, but now that I am older, I feel that moving did open up my eyes to the “world” and the different cultures that are around us
Also, it is fair to ask the parents to leave, isn’t it when they did something wrong? If anything, they should be apologizing to Noriko and to the government of Japan for causing so much of a commotion. I mean, in the end, it seems like the parent’s will have special permission to come visit Noriko throughout the next few years (even though in normal circumstances, they will be banned for a while).
In addition, you should be thinking more down the line of, “good thing this was Japan, and not some 3rd World Country” because if it was a country with harsher laws, the parents/Noriko might have been punished severly.