Representatives of Brazilian, Chinese, Filipino, Islamic, Korean, Spanish-speaking, and Thai communities from various parts of Japan expressed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by t he non-Japanese communities during the Fukushima Roundtable for Migrant Support on 28-29 December 2012 in Fukushima city. They also provided recommendations on how to address them.
Some of the highlights of the discussions drawn from the official report on the meeting are presented below.
There are large communities of Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Brazilian and Spanish-speaking people in various parts of Japan. There are also organizations among these communities based on nationality.
Some of the non-Japanese residents are “old comers” who have professionals (such as medical doctors and lawyers) among them. For the Korean residents, they have established their own schools, have been able to successfully solve their own problems, and have “roots” in Japan.
Many of the non-Japanese see their spirituality (Buddhist, Christian, Islamic) and the great value they put on the family as strengths.
There is a weak connection among the different non- Japanese communities, while the strengths of the “old- comers” have not been properly utilized and passed-on to the “new-comers.” This make the “new-comers” face the same problem again.
The non-Japanese generally have poor channel and weak capability in voicing their needs to the proper authorities. They also suffer from the language problem – not being able to speak, write and read in Japanese.
The non-Japanese communities have the strong desire to contribute to the development of Japan and their home countries. Many non-Japanese, having stayed long in Japan, can provide support in this regard through their expertise.
There are churches, mosques and temples that support the non-Japanese communities. There are also priests, sisters, imams, and monks who provide the support.
Communication among the members of the non-Japanese communities is fast and easy because of the internet.
There are discriminatory practices against foreigners by the Japanese and government agencies. The dissemination of information to the non-Japanese is slow and unreliable, particularly with regards to disasters.
For the Muslim non-Japanese, the Japanese mass media spread a bad image of the Islamic religion that lead to prejudice against them. They have seen strong opposition of local residents and authorities to their religious practices.
They also have great difficulty in acquiring Japanese language proficiency and lack opportunities to study the language.
The non-Japanese participants al so expressed their recommendations on how to improve the situation. Some of these recommendations are provided below:
a. On women
To expand the financial and human resources available to the non-Japanese women in rural and urban areas,
b. On immigration law
Adopt a comprehensive law on migrants by
c. On information
For wider dissemination of information,
d. On labor and employment
To address the difficulties faced by migrants at the workplace,
For further information, please contact HURIGHTS OSAKA.