DESK REVIEW ON POPULATIONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS registries were created based on a list of people compiled jointly by the governments of Japan and China. The PNLSC advocates for the Japan and Philippines governments to pursue a similar process, noting that it would also be similar to what was pursued for Persons of Indonesian Descent in the Philippines. According to the PNLSC, so far, the Japanese government’s explanation for viewing the populations of China and the Philippines differently is to suggest that the immigrants to China were there as a result of a project under the Japan government, but those in the Philippines went voluntarily, and so the responsibility that the government has is different.237 In the case of Japanese war orphans in China, a failed court case resulted in public backlash, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s first administration subsequently developed a policy with a five-point plan for war orphans from China: (1) Maximum National Pension Payments to be granted; (2) life support payments to be provided; (3) counseling to be offered; (4) localized social services to be made available; and (5) employment support to be granted to both second and third generations. PNLSC also supports applications to the DOJ-RSPPU, because recognition as ‘stateless’ by the Philippines government is given strong weight by the Family Courts in Japan. The lack of documentation/evidence is the main barrier to resolution of their cases in the Family Courts in Japan, so the documentation of the DOJ-RSPPU is very important. Often the only evidence available is the testimony of the applicant, other cases that are very lucky can find their own birth registration in a City Hall archives, or if they are Christian, they may have a baptism record. Witness statements are also useful, but because of the age and the time that has passed, it is hard to find people living who could serve as a witness of the paternity. PNLSC’s main project is filing cases with the family court in Japan to create a koseki registration. The organization has filed 315 cases to the family court in Japan since 2003, and 249 have been approved, with six currently ongoing, 30 withdrawn, and 30 denied. These cases are called, “shuuseki petitions”「しゅうせき 【就籍】」(a process whereby a person is allowed by a family court to create a family registry, the first step toward obtaining Japanese citizenship).238 It is worth noting that all six cases that Although the movement to the Philippines may have been voluntary, Nikkeijin were conscripted by the Japan government during World War II, and it was this conscription that separated families, and led to the subsequent persecution of Japanese children left behind. As such the government did have an official role to play in the current predicament for PJD in the Philippines and may therefore have a special responsibility. Furthermore, humanitarian considerations related to family links are also consistent between the China and Philippines context. 237 See: Ministry of Justice, “Mukosekino Kataga Mizukarawo Kosekini Kisaisurutameno Tetsudukitounitsuite [Procedures to Register Oneself in the Family Register],” at http://www.moj.go.jp/MINJI/minji04_00047.html#q3-6. (Japanese Only). 238 UNHCR / April 2021 79