The Embassy of Japan in the Philippines is coordinating with ministries and agencies in Tokyo to speed up the restoration of the nationality of Nikkei-jin in the Philippines and to help them visit their parents' hometown in Japan.

"I think it would be extremely beneficial for them to go to Japan and do the necessary research, etc. there. I cannot decide on my own whether or not the government will allocate a budget, but we are talking with the relevant ministries and agencies to consider how we can make their return to Japan come true, ," Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa said in an interview with reporters on Wednesday.

"We have to speed up, accelerate [restoration of their nationality]. Nikkei-jins are really old, in their late 80s and 90s... I would like them to see their father’s hometown," he added.

"I also went to Mindanao and had a storyteller, who was over 90 years old, tell me about what happened [during and after the war]," he said.

As the problem of statelessness remains a glaring anomaly with devastating impact on the lives of millions of people around the world who live without any nationality, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees called last 2013, for the “total commitment of the international community to end statelessness" under a ten -year global action plan from 2014 to 2024.

According to the UNHCR the Global Action Plan to End Statelessness "developed in consultation with States, civil society and international organisations, sets out a guiding framework made up of 10 Actions that need to be taken to end statelessness within 10 years."

"Provided that there is adequate leadership and effective implementation of the Global Action Plan, statelessness can be ended within a decade," it stated.

As the Global Action Plan will reached a decade this year, Koshikawa said the Philippines and Japan can establish a joint committee to accelerate the restoration of nationality of Nikkei-jins. But he added that even if without the existence of a joint committee " the Philippine government is very cooperative" on this matter. Robina Asido/DMS