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Japan says giving residency to Turkish Kurd's family

TOKYO, March 25, 2008 (AFP) - Japan said Tuesday it was giving residency to a Turkish Kurd, his Filipina wife and their daughter in a rare move by a country that accepts few refugees or immigrants.

The justice ministry agreed to grant the family residency rights for one year after judges rejected their plea against deportation but urged out-of-court negotiations.

"Due to humanitarian considerations, we will begin procedures to issue special residency status," Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama told reporters. "The status is for one year for now but they can extend it."

The family -- the 32-year-old Kurdish man of Turkish nationality, his 41-year-old Filipina wife and their seven-year-old daughter -- were ordered deported in 2004. Their names were not released.

The man said he feared "persecution" in Turkey because he skipped mandatory military service. Activists of Turkey's Kurdish minority have long sought greater cultural autonomy.

Japan, which has strict controls on immigration, has faced criticism from human rights groups that it accepts few refugees despite championing programmes to help refugees overseas.

Japan in 2006 accepted only 34 political refugees out of 954 applications. More than 80 percent of those accepted were from Myanmar.

In 2005, Japan came under fire for deporting to Turkey two members of a Kurdish family even after the United Nations had recognised them as refugees.