A Special Permanent Resident (特別永住者, tokubetsu eijūsha) is a resident of Japan with ancestral origins in Japan's former colonies, Korea and Taiwan, during the period of colonial rule. This status was created in 1991. Individuals in this category had previously been subjects of the Empire of Japan, but had involuntarily lost that status after the war when the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952 (i.e. former citizens of Japan and their descendants).