MANILA, Oct 02 (News On Japan) - Two sisters in the Philippines who were separated from their Japanese father during World War II and recently had their Japanese citizenship restored expressed their joy, telling TV Asahi, ‘We want to visit our father’s hometown, Okinawa.’
Esperanza Morine (86) and Lydia Morine (84), who live on Linapacan Island in the Philippines, were granted a new family registry last month through a process known as "shūseki" by the Naha Family Court, officially restoring their Japanese citizenship.
Their father, Kabutamori Morine, was originally from Okinawa Prefecture and had moved to the Philippines before the war. He died in 1945 during the conflict.
Under the pre-war Nationality Law, children could acquire Japanese citizenship if their father was Japanese. However, many of the so-called second-generation Japanese left in the Philippines remained stateless due to their fathers' deaths or forced deportations, leaving them unable to complete the necessary procedures.
On the 1st of this month, it was officially reported that the Morine sisters had recovered their Japanese citizenship.
Esperanza Morine and Lydia Morine ‘(Q: How do you feel about recovering your Japanese citizenship?) We are happy. If my legs are in good condition, I want to visit Okinawa, my father’s hometown.’
They hope to obtain passports and visit their father's homeland, Okinawa Prefecture, to pay their respects at his grave.
TV Asahi has been documenting the sisters' situation, along with other second-generation Japanese left in the Philippines who have longed to restore their citizenship, for the past two years through local interviews and documentary programs.
This time, the sisters' relationship with their father was proven through various evidence and testimonies.
Meanwhile, even 79 years after the war, more than 400 people with Japanese roots remain stateless in the Philippines.
Source: ANN
