So, Josh, countries should have no borders and shouldn't be allowed to restrict the volume of people that come into their country.

Why should any third-country or second-country government work to improve the living conditions of its citizens when those that want to can just leave and go to a nicer country?

Who created the situation this poor girl is in?

I said that if they were simply overstaying a visa in an attempt to avoid going back to an unhappy life, I would feel differently.

It has been speculated that they spent an incredible amount of money (partially backed by interviews with the parents themselves) on obtaining passports, and falsifying their identification.

You can`t say that you are trying to escape poverty when evidence has been presented that you spent $30,000+ on the "escape". Saying they are simply trying to escape unhappiness and poverty... Well, that`s a hard pill for me to swallow at this point.

Sympathy for the girl, who is temporarily losing her parents? Yes. But sympathy for parents who made the choice to blatantly break the law when they apparently had the means to work toward a legal route? And then want to be made an exception, pushing their suffering daughter to beg on their behalf? To the point that it borders on straight out exploitation? And on top of that, a mother who slipped up in an early interview saying that she thought that "If we had a baby who was raised as Japanese only, they would let us stay, so we did."

Nope. Sorry.

Christ, Josh, no need to go overboard. Instead of twisting my words into what you wanted to hear me say and make me look like an @**hole, why don't you respond to what I actually said?

The Japanese government committed no injustice in this matter, they were merely enforcing the laws of their country against those who knowingly broke them.

Fleeing oppression is one thing, but these people were from the Philippines, so they can hardly be described as "oppressed". They had the means and the money to travel to Japan, purchase false documents, etc., so they were not suffering economically either.

Japan (and every other country) has the right to regulate it's own borders, and to let in who it pleases. This is not because they are cold-hearted, but because their first obligation is to the well being of their own people. Unchecked immigration leads to any and all number of social problems, from crime to the spread of disease.

The parents in this case do not deserve any sympathy, just as a burglar who injures himself while breaking into your home deserves none. They were caught breaking the law, and it really is as simple as that. As it is, the Japanese government was far more lenient to these people than they have been to others. Simply overstaying one's visa by a few days will usually lead to instant deportation, and result in a temporary (4 or more years) to permanent ban from ever returning.

WTF? Your post looks like an opinion piece from FOX news. I think I agree with Josh for the most part.

You're pretty heartless. I really don't know much about this story but you do know that 30,000 is not a lot of money do you?

I mean people smugglers take life savings from people to get them to Australia, often selling everything they own for the voyage. 30000 dollars is not an abnormal amount of money.

The legal route is not an option.. these people are often unskilled and trying to make a better life.

You might call using the daughter for sympathy exploitation... As I said I don't know much about this particular situation... but most of the time these people are desperate to stay.

Poverty isn't always what makes a family unhappy. Back in Algeria, my dad had one of the highest salaries in the country by the time I was born. However, he fought very had to get our family out of the country because of many things including terrorism. My brothers witnessed terrorist attacks at their school, at the school I went and even on our route to school. Money can't always buy you safety, protection, good health services etc etc. Luckily, my fathers company asked him to move abroad, but many Algerians don't have this choice, including my cousins. If my cousins felt their lives to be in serious danger, I would break the law to get them out of there...!

If I ever had to, I'd break any law to get my family into safety. I'd sell everything I ever owned just so I get fake passports etc to go to a safer country.

*by any law, I mean immigration law etc. Nothing like murder. lol

For some reason everyone seems to think that I am referring to all immigrants.

I`m not.

I am talking about this very specific and particular case. They were not "unskilled" and did not even attempt to take the legal route. There were multiple options available for these people. But they made the choice to buy a stolen passport and come to Japan.

There are cases where perhaps exceptions should be made. This is not one of them.

I mean, even the Japanese government stated that if they`d just come to Japan on a tourist visa and overstayed it, they probably wouldn`t have been deported in the end. The option to be sponsored, etc would have been open to them. But it is crime on top of crime which has locked them out of any legal option.

I`ll save my pity for those who truly are desperate and trying to escape horrific situations. Not a couple who admits that they had a kid and raised her "Japanese" to keep them in the country if ever caught.

Nyoronin, I'm not very familiar with this case in particular, but I just wanted to ask a question; All this information about it, is it coming from interviewing the couple or is it from what was actually said in a court room (plus interviews of the parents and child)?

From newspaper and television interviews with the parents. I am not too quick to believe reports, and was actually a bit sympathetic toward their situation until the parents themselves supported a lot of the negative information.
I haven`t read any court room information/transcripts, although I assume that some newspaper info must be derived from it.

I have no issues with those trying to escape horrific situations... But I can`t say I support a couple who have pretty much admitted to just wanting an easy way to get away with it... Especially when it ends up hurting their daughter to this level.

More than any breaking of the law, the near exploitation of the daughter and the admittance by the mother that they believed she would be a free ticket out of punishment for their crimes just really gives me an awful taste in my mouth.

And what options would that be?