The Work of Kani Mission

and the Revision of the Immigration Laws

Kei Ikezumi, Director General, Nagoya Youth Center

I first became involved with the non-Japanese living in Gifu prefecture’s Kani City 9 years ago, through a telephone call from a mother of a second generation Filipino of Japanese descent, who was worried about school education.  This was the start of many urgent appeals for help concerning not just education, but from those having to work on short term contracts, worried about their future; those discriminated and prejudiced against in the workplace and in the community, and others who were suffering from being treated unjustly in the workplace.
In the hope that I could respond even a little to their petitions, with the help of an NGO, I organized consultation sessions and events and took telephone calls to assist with education, labor, legal and day to day general problems.
Through the above work, it came to my notice that many of these people were members of the Episcopal Church of the Philippines.  In 2004 the Episcopal Diocese of the North Central Philippines (EDNCP) and the Diocese of Chubu formed a partnership relationship.  Over 30 Filipinos, who were working in Kani and the surrounding area,
EDNCP, Joel Pachao to Japan.  I remember being surprised when I was told that the number of Filipinos who weren’t able to come was more than twice that number.  Amongst their number was Glenn Yamashita, who is now working as a deacon at Kani Mission.  After that I asked for Deacon Glenn to be dispatched formally from EDNCP, and in March 2009 the opening ceremony was held.   In November of the same year the foundation of Kani Mission was formally agreed at the diocesan synod.  Currently, as well as the Sunday service every week, a class to teach Japanese and other school subjects to kindergarten, elementary school and sometimes Junior High school children is held.
We, who work with the non-Japanese whose lives have their roots in the regions, and are planning further projects, are worried about revisions made to the Immigration and Asylum law and the Residents’ Register law in 2009, which will be put into operation in July 2012.
The revision to the Immigration and Asylum law means that the present Alien Registration Card will be replaced with a Residency Card containing an IC chip, issued by the Justice Ministry; this will have to be carried at all times.
The changes to the Residents’ Registry law mean that all foreign residents will subject to the Residents’ basic registry system.  Once recorded in the registry, any modifications or removals will be reported by the city, town or village to the Justice Ministry.  Up until now there has been a dual system where the Alien Registration Card has been issued by the city, town or village, and investigations concerning immigration and residency have been carried out by the Justice Ministry.  However under the new system, information concerning non-Japanese will be brought together under Justice Ministry control.  Furthermore,
will also be requested to provide information about their employment of non-Japanese, and for information about individuals.  This will create a society where non-Japanese are kept under surveillance by the Japanese people.  This will not only be a considerable problem for foreigners, but will also impose a considerable burden on us, Japanese, on a day to day basis.
There is also great concern for illegal immigrants.  If the aim is to flush out illegals using the Residents’ Card and the Residents’ Register, then the new laws will also most likely produce large numbers of ‘unseen foreigners’, who fall outside the welfare system.  Other concerns are children’s education; it will affect the rights of the children attending public schools; also that there will be an increase in forced repatriation.
The new immigration law may weaken still more the position of female spouses; the problem of protecting their privacy, and many other problems, which I haven’t time here to talk about.
The more differences a society has the healthier it is.  We should be aware that people who come from abroad are not just an economic adjustment valve for the work force, but are valuable human resources for economic expansion and building a new type of nation.  Certainly not subjects for surveillance and such like.  This will only be an obstruction for us in building relationships of mutual trust.  Should we, who are looking to build a multicultural society, where everyone’s dignity is protected, regardless of nationality, really be idle onlookers to these revisions in our laws?  How should we look at the enforcement of the immigration laws?  How we counter the revisions to the laws is a question we need to ask ourselves in the very near future.

I first became involved with the non-Japanese living in Gifu prefecture’s Kani City 9 years ago, through a telephone call from a mother of a second generation Filipino of Japanese descent, who was worried about school education.  This was the start of many urgent appeals for help concerning not just education, but from those having to work on short term contracts, worried about their future; those discriminated and prejudiced against in the workplace and in the community, and others who were suffering from being treated unjustly in the workplace.

 

In the hope that I could respond even a little to their petitions, with the help of an NGO, I organized consultation sessions and events and took telephone calls to assist with education, labor, legal and day to day general problems.

 

Through the above work, it came to my notice that many of these people were members of the Episcopal Church of the Philippines.  In 2004 the Episcopal Diocese of the North Central Philippines (EDNCP) and the Diocese of Chubu formed a partnership relationship.  Over 30 Filipinos, who were working in Kani and the surrounding area, gathered at the party to welcome the Bishop of

EDNCP, Joel Pachao to Japan.  I remember being surprised when I was told that the number of Filipinos who weren’t able to come was more than twice that number.  Amongst their number was Glenn Yamashita, who is now working as a deacon at Kani Mission.  After that I asked for Deacon Glenn to be dispatched formally from EDNCP, and in March 2009 the opening ceremony was held.   In November of the same year the foundation of Kani Mission was formally agreed at the diocesan synod.  Currently, as well as the Sunday service every week, a class to teach Japanese and other school subjects to kindergarten, elementary school and sometimes Junior High school children is held.

 

We, who work with the non-Japanese whose lives have their roots in the regions, and are planning further projects, are worried about revisions made to the Immigration and Asylum law and the Residents’ Register law in 2009, which will be put into operation in July 2012.

 

The revision to the Immigration and Asylum law means that the present Alien Registration Card will be replaced with a Residency Card containing an IC chip, issued by the Justice Ministry; this will have to be carried at all times.

 

The changes to the Residents’ Registry law mean that all foreign residents will subject to the Residents’ basic registry system.  Once recorded in the registry, any modifications or removals will be reported by the city, town or village to the Justice Ministry.  Up until now there has been a dual system where the Alien Registration Card has been issued by the city, town or village, and investigations concerning immigration and residency have been carried out by the Justice Ministry.  However under the new system, information concerning non-Japanese will be brought together under Justice Ministry control.  Furthermore,educational establishments, businesses, religious bodies and other such institutions will also be requested to provide information about their employment of non-Japanese, and for information about individuals.  This will create a society where non-Japanese are kept under surveillance by the Japanese people.  This will not only be a considerable problem for foreigners, but will also impose a considerable burden on us, Japanese, on a day to day basis.

 

There is also great concern for illegal immigrants.  If the aim is to flush out illegals using the Residents’ Card and the Residents’ Register, then the new laws will also most likely produce large numbers of ‘unseen foreigners’, who fall outside the welfare system.  Other concerns are children’s education; it will affect the rights of the children attending public schools; also that there will be an increase in forced repatriation. 

 

The new immigration law may weaken still more the position of female spouses; the problem of protecting their privacy, and many other problems, which I haven’t time here to talk about.

 

The more differences a society has the healthier it is.  We should be aware that people who come from abroad are not just an economic adjustment valve for the work force, but are valuable human resources for economic expansion and building a new type of nation.  Certainly not subjects for surveillance and such like.  This will only be an obstruction for us in building relationships of mutual trust.  Should we, who are looking to build a multicultural society, where everyone’s dignity is protected, regardless of nationality, really be idle onlookers to these revisions in our laws?  How should we look at the enforcement of the immigration laws?  How we counter the revisions to the laws is a question we need to ask ourselves in the very near future.

Report: 2nd Parenting Talakayan in Kapatiran

Last September 8, Wednesday, a group of mothers came to the 2nd Talakayan (group discussion) about parenting issues. It was raining very hard but the mothers managed to come and we saw their excitement of meeting each other again.
The participants brought their food to share with the group. While having lunch together, each one shared some notes on parenting which they have read from the hand-outs given to them in the 1st Parenting Talakayan.
The language used in the discussion was Filipino. After a short review of the previous discussion, each member was asked to give her ideas or share an experience which happened when she was taking care of her baby until the age of 5. Relatively, it is ahappy experience for them although there are problems which they encounter. As one mother said, “never mind the problems, never mind waking up at night to feed my baby, as long as she’s with me, I’m happy.” When asked by th facilitator what they are willing to do for the sake of their children, they answered, “anything because we love them”.
As single mothers, they said sometimes they want to give up especially during the times when they feel they’re alone and cannot talk with anybody. But when they look at their children they seem to forget that lonely feeling. This is the reason why they feel the need to continue meeting, studying and bonding with the other single mothers.
Mothers who have children in the elementary school mentioned about spending time learning the Japanese language. While they can still talk with them in Filipino or English now, they know that sooner or later their children will be very fluent in Japanese and if that happens, they will have difficulty communicating with them. To prepare for this eventuality, they think that having tutorial classes in Nihongo will be very helpful for them. (Kapatiran Staff)

Report: Meeting of Counselors/Caseworkers

ã Meeting of Counselors/Caseworkers

A meeting of counselors/caseworkers working in different church-based and nongovernment organizations was held last August 27, 2010.  The focus of discussions this time was on the Japanese-Filipino children (JFC), meetings, identity of the group, other organizational concerns, and the coming visit to Japan of President Benigno S. Aquino Ⅲ.

 

A review of the meeting held last June was done by the group before going into the discussion of some identified problems of the JFCs raised in the Philippines and brought back to Japan.  As shared by the caseworkers directly handling cases of JFCs, problematic areas are education, cultural adjustment, identity crisis, gender issues and sexuality.

 

 

When it comes to education, insufficient knowledge of the Japanese language is one of the causes of the JFCs’ poor performance in academic studies.  Add to this is the difficulty 

 

in socializing with school mates, different environment, and for many children, lack of good communication with their biological mothers.  Many find it difficult to spend quality time with their children because they’re very busy with their jobs and household chores.

 

Living in a different cultural environment is also difficult for the JFCs.  Different lifestyle, different way of doing things can cause confusion.  For most of them, the extended families in the Philippines provided the care support and discipline they needed while growing up.  There, they learned to dream, and dream big.  In many ways, they’re inspired to aim high like get a college degree then work after graduation.  Going to Japan was also a dream for them but once here, many became frustrated and stopped dreaming.

 

Gender issues and sexuality were also discussed.  Exchange of ideas on how to deal with problematic JFCs and information sharing on case working were done.  While a few members of the group have good knowledge of these issues, the majority are still not confident that they can handle very well the sensitive and difficult cases.

 

ã Plan of Action

The group agreed on the suggestion of a member to have a simultaneous workshop for the mothers and children.  This was viewed as one way of helping address the relationship problem of the target group. The caseworkers will facilitate the workshop and in preparation for that, will ask the help of Fr. Nilo Tanalega, Filipino psychotherapist and Director of UGAT Foundation in creating the module for the workshop.  Follow-up counseling will also be given to workshop participants.

Another plan is to make a position paper about the problems and concerns of the JFCs and migrant families in Japan.  This paper is to be submitted to the Philippine Embassy. The group is hoping that when the President comes to Japan, he will have the time to sit down with the group and discuss the contents of the position paper. (Kapatiran Staff)

 

 
What is “a family”?

 

 Jessica Chin, Intern of Wellesley College

Hello, my name is Jessica Chin.  I’m currently a senior at Wellesley College and I was lucky to spend 10 weeks of my summer interning at Kapatiran.  When I first applied to intern at Kapatiran, I had been expecting to arrive with my prior knowledge of non-profits and Japanese culture, and share my insights on the organization from an outside perspective.  What I discovered is more complex fundamentally and personallythan I could ever have imagined.  The issues that migrants face in a new country is a reality that needs to be acknowledged, although the deep economic roots of the inequalities, gender, and effects of globalization are things that also need to be considered. 

 

At Kapatiran I have been able to join counselors and observe how they interact with clients, see how the office provides support to the counselors, and have been able to speak with and hear the stories of some of the clients themselves.  Although I had the opportunity to visit workshops and join counselors when

meeting with clients, the highlight of my time has been when everyone eats lunch together in the office.  Observing how the staff interact and constantly support each other really shows what is at the heart of Kapatiran; a group of people who care about what they do, and their sharing attitude promotes a supportive environment that allows them to extend help to others while still caring for themselves.  Prior to Kapatiran, I had also not really known very much about the Philippines, but I have since come to love Philippine food, as well as see into their culture.

 

I was also extremely blessed to have the chance to spend a week with Frank Ocampos who works at VIOLA, part of Nonohana-no-Ie, Children’s Home in Chiba.  Although my timeat Kapatiran gave me a look into the life and troubles that a migrant worker might come across in Japan, COSMOS gave me a look at the other side; the children of international unions and children with parents who can’t take care of them, and what support they receive.  Staying at COSMOS made me question what family means and explore not only the connection between strangers, but between people with whom you share blood and if in the end, it really makes any difference.

 

My combined experiences at Kapatiran and COSMOS showed me that if people just opened their lives and hearts to include those around them who may be different, everyone can live together and work together for better lives.  At COSMOS, although the children are not blood related, and are not always of the same culture or language, they all work together to make a safe place that they can call home and return to.  At Kapatiran, although our clients have struggles, just by listening to their worries and providing a shoulder to lean on, they can work through their problems themselves.　If　everyone just tried to be more supportive to those around and treated them like family, I think the world would be a safer place, especially with globalization and more people crossing borders and starting families.

 

What I have been able to learn so far is thanks to everyone at Kapatiran, where everyone treated me like family, and it has been an honor to work with you.  In the future, I hope to use what I have learned from my time in Tokyo, and hopefully return one day.

Maraming Salamat Po!

■Total Number of Calls and Categories　  TOP3

<June>・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・121

(1)DV・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・39

(2)Marriage Problem・・・・・11

(3)Regal・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・10

<July>・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・170

(1)DV・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・51

(2)Child/Parenting・・・・・・・17

(3)Marriage Problems・・・・12

■Total Number of Case Working/ Face to Face Counseling

<June>

Case Working････････ 14

 Face to Face Counseling･･･････ 3

<July>

Case Working･････････ 4

Face to Face Counseling･･･････ 2