Overstaying Filipinos in Japan voluntarily coming home

Many of the 40,000 overstaying Filipinos in Japan have voluntarily returned home to beat the Feb. 18 deadline set by Japan's new immigration law.

They started arriving in batches on board Philippine Airlines and Japan Airlines flights from Tokyo and Narita, most of them voluntarily leaving Japan to avoid arrest and deportation.

They said that they would not be able to re-enter Japan, and that they would be detained and fined a minimum amount equivalent to P90,000, depending on the length of the illegal stay.

Some of them have overstayed in Japan for more than 10 years and worked mostly in clubs as entertainers, and in factories and construction sites.

The illegal aliens included Filipinas who have been abandoned by their Japanese husbands. A typical case is that of Judith Okubo of Talisay, Negros Occidental, who dreamed of becoming a Japanese citizen. Her Japanese husband abandoned her after she gave birth to two children.

Of the 40,000 undocumented Filipinos in Japan, 70 percent are believed to be women entertainers whose work permits have long expired and who have become part of the increasing number of illegal aliens in Japan.

Described as "unprecedented and strict," Japan's new immigration law is primarily aimed at the growing problem of illegal aliens in the country.