(This story is based on an original Japanese language article by Tadashi Miyazaki,translated and edited by David Tharp)

In halting Japanese, the nine elderly men and women at the press conference in Tokyo said emotionally, “I am Japanese.” That is a statement they have been struggling to have accepted by the Japanese authorities for years.

They were all children of Japanese parents, abandoned to their fate in the Philippines at the end of World War II when the chaos of the war separated families like typhoon winds blowing leaves from trees.

In the confusion, many family members lost complete contact with each other. The most tragic circumstances involved children who had no idea how to find their parents in Japan after they were left behind.

In effect, these children became de facto orphans. In many other cases during the post-war period, their fathers were forcefully repatriated to Japan and the children had to remain with their Filipino mothers.

When they became adults, it took years of attempts to try to locate their fathers and families in Japan even with the help of well-meaning Japanese organizations that wanted to assist them. The lucky ones eventually found a family connection.

Loren Kobayashi (83)

But for many who had no clues or no leads about the whereabouts of their fathers or their families, it has been an uphill battle to find any trace that would lead to their next of kin.
Over the years, The Nippon Foundation has given material and professional legal help so that these abandoned and orphaned children -- now all aging adults -- can find their lost relatives.

The latest example of cases that went relatively well emerged this month when nine elderly Japanese left in the Philippines were assisted to come to Japan to present their cases to the Tokyo Family Court, making their claims for Japanese citizenship, and continuing their search for relatives.

Mr Hirose breaks down in tears at his father’s grave in Kyoto Prefecture

“I want to find my family as soon as possible,” said one elderly woman, Loren Kobayashi (83) at the press conference. This was the fourth time she has travelled to Japan to seek relatives and have her case considered by the Tokyo Family Court. She and the others in her group went to the Family Court on 4-5 August to be interviewed by investigators about their claim for citizenship.

Unfortunately, two applicants were rejected because of insufficient proof to back up their requests for citizenship.

After the interviews, the group went to Sophia University in Tokyo to talk at a seminar about their experiences of living in extreme poverty during the post-war period in the Philippines.

Mr Shigeru Aoki, a Japanese lawyer working on these cases for the Filipino-Japanese Legal Support Center (PNLSC), with support from The Nippon Foundation, said there were at least 1,300 persons left behind in the Philippines and China who are seeking to be recognized as Japanese citizens by the Tokyo Family Court.

Japanese orphans pay a courtesy call to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Fortunately, said Aoki, PNLSC investigations on behalf of Ms Kobayashi had received some information that possibly identified some of her father’s relatives living in Kumamoto Prefecture. PNLSC staff members were working to confirm this information. One other member of the visiting group, Jeronimo Hirose (65), had received assistance to find his lost family members in Kyoto Prefecture and was able to visit his father’s grave. Standing in front of his father’s last resting place, Hirose was overcome with tears of emotion and said he hoped that all the family members would be happy and healthy and asked his father’s spirit to look out for them. At a press conference in Kyoto, Hirose said he wanted to be recognized as a Japanese citizen and he wanted to live in Japan.

Another member of the group, Satay Kawada (69) visited his father’s hometown of Hiroshima City, and expressed his wish to have his name entered in the family register. Fortunately, Kawada had managed to find his parent’s marriage certificate and their photograph, which confirmed his claim for citizenship.

To date, PNLSC has assisted 128 people making claims for citizenship with the Tokyo Family Court. Of this number, 53 applications are currently being considered. PNLSC is also putting together a list of an additional 100 people who will submit claims in the near future.

The Nippon Foundation has usually been financially assisting those left behind in the Philippines in their search for the proof of family ties that they need in order to apply to the Tokyo Family Court. In the case of this particular group, however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has supported their visit from its own budget.

The fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged this particular group’s trip may also work to their advantage at the Tokyo Family Court, said one observer.