His comments at a press conference came after Arlan Calderon, 36, and his wife Sarah, 38, both undocumented, came to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau to tell the authorities that they want to stay in Japan with their daughter Noriko, who attends a junior high school in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, seeking special permission for residence.

A provisional release status for the family, which is under a deportation order, expired Friday, but the status has been extended for another two weeks, according to their lawyer.

The immigration authorities have suggested it may be possible to issue special permission for residence to Noriko only.

The ministry's decision raises the possibility that only Noriko's parents will be deported later this month.

Noriko was born in 1995 in Japan after her parents entered Japan in the early 1990s on different people's passports.

They filed a lawsuit to seek nullification of the deportation order against them, but the Supreme Court rejected it last September.

Earlier this week, Noriko said at a press conference in Tokyo, "I want to live in Japan together with my parents."