The Japanese government has decided to grant the Palestinian nationality for children born of Palestinian parents living in Japan, the Justice Ministry said Friday. Under the current nationality law, children with Palestinian parents are provided with Japanese citizenship, as the government does not formally recognize Palestinian regions as a state and considers that the people there have no formal nationality.
"Given that the Palestinian Authority has improved itself to almost a full-fledged state and issues its own passports, we have decided to accept the Palestinian nationality", the ministry said, adding that the new rule will apply to children born on and after Oct.15. Japan is the third-largest donor to Palestinians after the US and the EU. |