About 250 foreigners staying illegally in Japan and their supporters marched Sunday in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, calling on the government to grant them resident permits that would allow them to stay in the country legally.
Donning ethnic clothes and flanked by patrol cars, overstayers from 11 countries, including Iran, Bangladesh and Myanmar, marched from central Ginza to Hibiya Park, holding aloft banners and placards that read, "We are not criminals" and "We want to stay in Japan legally."
The parade was organized by the Asian People's Friendship Society, a Tokyo-based nongovernmental organization dedicated to supporting Asian nationals working or studying in Japan.