D came to Japan in 2007 with a student visa and began overstaying from 2008. D was temporarily co-habiting with E of Myanmar nationality while they were not legally married. D gave birth to C, a child from D’s relationship with E. C was born in Japan in 2011, but as her mother D was not able to support her financially, C lived in an infant care institution from shortly after birth and was later transferred to a child care institution. After C’s birth, E started to live separately from D, and D lost touch with him. C’s mother D had not yet registered C’s birth with the Embassy of Myanmar at that time. In 2013, D was detained at a regional immigration bureau and a deportation order was issued to both D and C, with “Myanmar” listed as their “country of nationality” and “the destination country for deportation”. (2) Administrative response by Japan The relevant regional immigration bureau detained D, and in July 2014 it shared with D a one-page document in Japanese language carrying information about the documents and other items required for one to be registered as a national, which was verified with the Embassy of Myanmar in Japan (hereinafter referred to as the “document on national registration”). The regional immigration bureau instructed D to carry out the process to register C as a national with the embassy of Myanmar in Japan upon the grant of a provisional release permit211 to D.212 The abovementioned document carried information about the documents to be submitted213 and the need to pay tax, and it also stated “registration as a national can be done even if the parents are unmarried.” With regard to tax, the document stated: “all Myanmar nationals are required to pay tax for the duration they are away from Myanmar. The tax amount is 10,000 Japanese yen per month from the time when they leave Myanmar until the end of 2011.”214 211 ICRRA Article 54. See supra note 176. The letter stated “This is to notify about documents required for national registration, as confirmed by the Embassy of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in July 2014” and was provided by Nobuya Takai, the attorney who was the legal representative for this case. 213 The following is listed as requirements: parents’ passports (even if expired), parents’ ID cards or colored copies of them, a letter from parents to the Ambassador of Myanmar stating under oath that they are the parents of the child, facial photographs of the parents and child, certified translation of the birth certificate in Japan, tax payment by the mother, and a visit to the Embassy by the child and one of the parents. It is noted that if it is difficult to submit the father’s passport, it would be acceptable to submit the mother’s passport, a colored copy of the father’s passport, and a colored copy of the father’s ID card. 214 As for tax reduction, it is stated as follows: “In case there are circumstances during the period subject to taxation such as being a student, illness, having a family, paying national health insurance in Japan, etc., and if documents can be submitted to prove such circumstances, the tax might be reduced or exempted. It is possible to pay tax upon return to Myanmar, but the amount of tax must be calculated before return.” 212 105