Pair arrested for trying to obtain Japanese nationality for baby with foreign parents
A Japanese man and a Filipino woman have been arrested for attempting to trick the Japanese government into granting Japanese nationality to a baby whose parents were both citizens of the Philippines:
Michio Uchino, 55, and Marissa Floures Ito, 31, allegedly filed a false birth report with the Ushiku municipal government office in Ibaraki Prefecture in April that says the boy was Uchino’s, the police said.
In August, the two also filed a false application with the Justice Ministry seeking the boy’s Japanese nationality, according to the police.
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Ito has told investigators that she thought she could continue to stay and work in Japan if Japanese nationality is granted to her baby, the police said. Ito has given several hundred thousand yen to Uchino, with whom she got acquainted through a friend.
The child was born in Japan, but Japanese law does not automatically grant citizenship based on location of birth. The child would have required a parent who was a Japanese citizen, so Uchino was paid to pretend he fathered the child.
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