A group of visa overstayers launched a month-long campaign Monday in which they will ask 36 local assemblies in the Kanto region for special permission to remain in the country legally.
Spearheaded by the Asian People's Friendship Society, a nonprofit organization, the campaign includes 35 undocumented immigrants of eight nationalities, including Filipinos, Iranians and Peruvians.
The organization submitted the first petition on Monday at noon to a city assembly in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, where the society's headquarters is located. It calls for the "immediate legalization" of undocumented immigrants who have long resided in Japan, by issuing special permission to stay in the country.