An 82-year-old woman is the first Nikkei-jin to travel to Japan from the Philippines after the new guidelines took effect in July.

Margarita Hiroko Koyama left for Japan from Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila at 6:40 am on Sunday.

Koyama previously got her Japanese passport in 2019 but learned that she had to pay fines and fees before she could depart.

“I’m so happy. I have been longing to go (to Japan) since I was a child,” Koyama told reporters.

Koyama is resident of Digos City, Davao del Sur. Her father, Tomaho Koyama, went to the Philippines before World War II and married a Filipina.

She said that when she arrives in Japan, she wants to visit her children, grandchildren, and her father’s grave.

Nikkei-jin are descendants of Japanese immigrants who cannot get Japanese or Filipino citizenship because the 1935 Constitution required them to present their paternity and birth documents, which were lost during World War II.

They have been identified as a group at risk of statelessness by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2021.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) recently issued new guidelines allowing Nikkei-jins to leave the country with or without a Philippine passport.

Nikkei-jins who travel without a passport will be considered Japanese nationals. They can go abroad to and from Japan with a Japanese passport or a document or a travel document and a BI order that recognizes the individual as a Nikkei-jin.

The BI order allows a Nikkei-jin leave the Philippines without having to pay fees.

Minister and Consul General of the Japanese Embassy Takahiro Hanada accompanied Koyama to the Immigration area to help her clear the passport screening.

In a press conference, Hanada said they have conducted the 17th survey of the remaining Nikkei-jins and ensure a smooth return to Japan.

“The government of Japan has been working diligently to urge the Philippine government to implement the new guideline with the understanding and cooperation of the Philippines, and this has led to a major improvement in this problem. The new guidelines also made it possible for Ms. Koyama to return to Japan,” Hanada said.

“The Embassy of Japan will continue to provide the utmost sincerity and support to help as many remaining Nikkei-jins as possible to expedite the process of acquiring their nationality in the Japanese family courts and to make their return to Japan as smooth as possible,” he added.

“To be honest, when I look at the fact that the Nisei population is aging very rapidly, I still think that such measures should have been taken much earlier. I am very sorry for the Nikkei-jins who died in the meantime,” he said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS