This page has information about the following people and their stories:
Born "Illegal" in Japan Hundreds of children in Japan, like Samwei and Miracle, are living in a kind of limbo, unable to acquire any status of residence in the only country they've ever known. Born to undocumented foreign nationals, they face the fear of deportation and often the pain of long-term separation from a parent detained at an immigration facility. NHK World, 20 Jan 2021.
Japan's pariah descendants fight present-day discrimination Looks at the case of Kazuo Ishikawa, a Buraku man who was convicted of murder in the Sayama Case who is campaigning to prove the conviction was false and made because he was Buraku, as well as the experiences and activism of other Buraku people. Includes an interview with Ian Neary, a professor at Oxford University. France 24.com, 2 Feb 2017.
Status Denied: Kurdish Asylum Seeker Speaks from His Holding Cell This article explains the situation of Mehmet Colak, a 38 year old Kurdish asylum seeker who has been in Japan 14 years after coming to join his brother in Kawaguchi City. His wife and oldest child also joined him in Japan and he now has two children born in Japan but is being held in immigration detention in Tokyo. The article also has information about Welgee, a group supporting refugees and asylum seekers, and the views about asylum seekers on provisional release of former Minister of Justice Kamikawa Yōko. Nippon.com. 17 Aug 2018.
Japan welcomes Muslims to schools to turn the tide of ignorance This film looks at the experiences of Miwa Essaadi, a Japanese Muslim woman, including threats against Muslims in Japan and her visits to schools to explain about Islam. NHK World, 2017.
Foreign victims of domestic violence band together This article includes the story of Mardonia Nishimoto, a Filipino woman who came to work in Japan and had two abusive Japanese husbands and who formed Kalakasan Migrant Women's Empowerment Centre to help other migrant women suffering domestic violence. Japan Today, 8 Jun 2008.
Foreign workers in Japan 'exploited as cheap labour’ Many firms reported to be abusing intern scheme to fill jobs shunned by Japanese The article tells the story of a Chinese trainee, Tang Xili, and explains how the internship training programme is used by Japanese companies to find cheap foreign labour to do jobs that they can't get Japanese workers for. Straits Times, 24 Feb 2016.
Vietnamese find lifeline at temple in Nagoya after losing jobs This article explains the stories of Vietnamese people sheltering at Tokurinji temple in Nagoya. They lost their jobs on the Technical Internship Training Programme and were unable to return home to Vietnam because of corona restrictions on travel and entry to Japan. The article refers to experts who blame the situation on problems with the Technical Internship Training Programme itself. Asahi Shimbun, 11 May 2020.
Embracing a buraku heritage: Examining changing attitudes toward a social minority This article looks at Buraku history including Buraku rights campaigns and organisations, as well as the stories of two young people who discovered their Buraku ancestry and helped set up the group, Buruaku Heitage in 2011. Japan Times, 19 Feb 2019.
Girl chooses Japan over parents "A teenager in Japan whose parents are being deported to the Philippines has decided to stay in Tokyo with her aunt. After the family lost a three-year battle to remain in Japan, Noriko Calderon, 13, had to choose whether to stay in Japan or go with her parents." BBC News, 14 April 2009.
Schoolgirl told to choose: Country or parents Watch an interview with Noriko and her parents as they pack in preparation for the parents' deportation back to the Philippines. CNN, 13 April, 2009.
Calderon resumes classes as parents prep for deportation " Filipino girl whose parents face deportation Monday started her second year at a local junior high school Wednesday prior to her parents’ departure for the Philippines." Japan Times, 9 Apr, 2009.
A young life in legal limbo This article by David McNeill explains some of the background to Noriko's case, including a stricter approach taken to undocumented foreign workers from 2003, different views about Noriko's case, and the wider debate about immigration in Japan. Japan Times, 10 Feb, 2009.
The sad story of Noriko Calderon: Some painful lessons in illegal migration WASHINGTON D.C., United States?There are many reasons why Filipinos and citizens of other economically struggling countries migrate to the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Australia, just to name a few. These immigrants, whether legal or illegal, believe that greener pastures await them in those countries. Global Nation, 15, Apr, 2009.
Japan is young Kurd's only home, despite challenges of 'illegal resident' status This article tells the story of Ramazan, a young Kurdish man who came to Japan with his family of asylum seekers when he was 9. He talks about the difficulties he faced as a child growing up in this situation and now as an adult who is on provisional release, and doesn't have legal residence status and so cannot work. Mainichi Shimbun, 6 Jul 2021.
Oki "When I realised the origin of my blood, I knew this blood was going to be burning" says Oki, "but first I had to find out how to make it burn". With the release of his second album, "Hankapuy", it's clear that Oki, a musician of mixed Japanese and Ainu (indigenous Japanese) blood has come a long way on his own personal journey and in the process has created a startling album. Far Side Music.
Oki is an Ainu Japanese musician. Wikipedia.
Ainu musician Oki brings the world to Hokkaido An interview with Oki, a musician with a Japanese mother and an Ainu father, whose band, the Oki Dub Ainu Band, mix Ainu music with reggae, dub and other world musics. Japan Times, Aug. 28, 2008.
'I want to make Japan a better place to live': Korean nurse blocked from promotion by Tokyo vows to fight on This article explains Chong's thinking about her situation and her life as a Zainichi Korean. Japan Times, 1 Feb, 2005.
Ruling rejects 'nationality' suit "The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was not wrong in barring a resident Korean health worker from applying for a managerial post." This article describes the background to the case. Asahi Shinbun, 27 Jan, 2005.
Foreign children slipping through the cracks of Japan's education system This article looks at the situation of some of Maia and other children who are attending a nursery school in Hamamatsu City even though they are 6 years old or over. An NHK survey found that out of 120,000 foreign children between the ages of 6 and 14 living in Japan about 8,400 are believed to have not attended school. NHK World. 17 Apr 2019.
Foreign students in Japan in dire straits amid pandemic This article explains the situation of a Vietnamese university student in Japan who works to support herself but who may have to drop out of university because she cannot get enough in the pandemic. NHK World, 28 Aug 2020.
Evacuees from Ukraine embark on new lives in Japan Maria has come to Japan to join her daughter who lives here but she hopes she can return to Ukraine sometime. NHK World, 13 Apr 2022.
Being Ainu for Mina Sakai, leader of the “Ainu Rebels”. This article explains a little about Sakai's life, her attitudes to being Ainu and Ainu culture, and the band she formed, the Ainu rebels, which mixed traditional Ainu music and dance with pop music hip hop. Hawehe - Ainu Voices.
Watch this short video report about the Ainu Rebels which includes an interview with Mina Sakai. TITV, 27 Aug, 2008.
Going Native: Tokyo’s thriving Ainu community keeps traditional culture alive Part 1 explains the history of Ainu people as well as the story of Mina Sakai, a young Ainu woman from Hokkaido who at first felt shame about her Ainu identity but came to have pride in being Ainu and set up the group Ainu Rebels to promote Ainu culture. Metropolis, 26 Feb, 2009.
Masayoshi Son A Wikipedia article that explains a little about Son's Korean background and why his family adopted a Japanese name.
How Sprint’s new boss lost $70 billion of his own cash (and still stayed rich): The strange tale of Masayoshi Son the "Bill Gates of Japan." The story of Son's rise to success, with some information about his Zainichi Korean family background. ars technic, 16 Oct, 2012.
Japan's Masayoshi Son Picks a Fight With U.S. Phone Giants A biography of Son that discusses his background a a poor Zainichi Korean and suggests he went to the US at 16 to escape discrimination in Japan. Wall Street Journal, 23 Nov, 2012.
Japan's trial run for migrant workers This article looks at Japanese-Brazilian Nikkeijin in Hamamatsu and tells the story of Flavia who went to a top university in Tokyo even though she was told by her teacher when she was 10 that she had no future in Japan. BBC News.
Ainu activist near Tokyo uses traditional cloth art to show her people are 'right here' This article tells the story of Shizue Ukaji, 88, who is skilled and highly respected maker of traditional Ainu embroidery. It explains how her family left Hokkaido like many other Ainu people to find work and to escape discrimination and how she became "a pioneer of the movement to reclaim the rights of Ainu people in eastern Japan's Kanto region". Mainichi Shimbun, 22 Apr, 2021.
The beauty contest winner making Japan look at itself About the issues raised by Arianna Miyamoto's victory as the first multiracial Miss Universe Japan. BBC News, 4 Jun 2015.
Multiracial Miss Universe Japan hopes to change homeland’s thinking on identity Ariana Miyamoto hadn’t planned to enter a Japanese beauty contest because she figured her multiracial origins meant she couldn’t win. Then a close multiracial friend committed suicide. Japan Times, 3 Apr 2015.
Biracial Beauty Queen Challenges Japan’s Self-Image This article looks at discrimination against black people and people of black and Japanese mixed background, following the victory of Ariana Miyamoto, a women of African-American and Japanese mixed descent, in the Miss Japan contest in 2015. New York Times, 29 May 2015.
Helping Brazilian kids master local life:Japanese-Brazilian Tetsuyoshi Kodama proudly serves as a bridge between communities Tetsuyoshi Kodama, a second-generation Japanese-Brazilian, became the first foreign national to pass the taxi driver test in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1991. The Japan Times.
TOKYO応援宣言「開会式に登場!?先住民族・アイヌの歴史と文化を世界へ」The video tells the story of a young Ainu woman, Maya Sekine, about how she didn't reveal her Ainu identity to others when she was young but came to identify publicly as Ainu and now works to promote understanding of Ainu culture and language including on YouTube. TV Asahi, 8 Jul 2019.
American-Okinawan working to keep Ryukyu language alive Byron Fija, who knows nothing about his American father and little about his Okinawan mother, now works to preserve Uchinaguchi, a native language in Okinawa, after having overcome an identity crisis. Japan Times, 13 Jun 2015.
“Wanne Uchinanchu – I am Okinawan.” Japan, the US and Okinawa’s Endangered Languages "In this article Okinawan language and cultural activist Fija Bairon speaks on the discovery of his Okinawan identity and on his attempts to maintain and revitalize Uchinaguchi, one of five Ryukyuan languages. An introduction addresses issues of Ryukyuan language endangerment and the local attempts of language revitalisation." The Asia-Pacific Journal Japan Focus, 22 Nov, 2007.
沖縄語のいま ➁ A short video about Uchinaaguchi teacher, Fija Byron, who has mixed Okinawan and foreign roots, and about the Okinawan language/Uchinaaguchi. 19 Feb 2016.
Decade-long wait takes toll on asylum seeker:Periods in detention, 10 years in legal limbo leave Iranian with mental, physical scars Most foreigners in Japan know the horror of waiting for a residency permit or visa. A few hours in the queue at the Shinagawa immigration office can feel like a lifetime. The Japan Times.
Justice stalled in brutal death of deportee: Autopsy suggests immigration officers used excessive force in restraining Ghanaian Abubakar Awudu Suraj had been in Japan for over two decades when immigration authorities detained him in May 2009. The Ghanaian was told in Yokohama of his deportation to Ghana at 9:15 a.m. on March 22 last year. Six hours later he was dead, allegedly after being excessively restrained by guards. The Japan Times.
Officials faulted in death of Ghanaian: Court rules immigration used 'Illegal' force on deportee In a landmark verdict, the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday ruled that immigration officials were responsible for the death of Abubakar Awudu Suraj, a Ghanaian man who had overstayed his via they were forcibly deporting in 2010. Japan Times, March 19, 2014.
Campaign by the Asian People's Friendship Society in support of compensation from the state in the case of the death of Suraj.
Despair engulfs Pakistani asylum seekers: Refugee family victim of Japan's politicized immigration policies? In a ramshackle Yokohama house smelling of damp and rotting wood, Nasir Qadri and his family await their fate.The Pakistani national, his wife, Shaheena, and their five children are asylum seekers who arrived in Japan on Aug. 25, 2009. But although they have survived the March 11 quake and months of hand to mouth existence, they are in despair and threatening suicide. The Japan Times.
Foreign permanent residents on rise, filling gaps She now runs an elevator maintenance company in Tokyo with 25 employees and annual turnover of 500 million yen. She is also a practicing Chinese lawyer and consults with Japanese companies looking to expand business in China.
Indian works to serve expat enclave: From provider to guarantor to provisioner to educator, tea merchant turns Nishi Kasai into hub 33 years ago, Jagmohan Chandrani was one of the first Indians to arrive in Nishi Kasai, now the main Indian community in Japan. He runs Japan Business Services, specializing in import and sales of Indian black tea, as well as two Indian restaurants, and is also involved with local Indian international schools and plans to build an Indian temple. Japan Times, 8 Feb, 2011.
Celebrating black Americans in Yamanashi "American diplomat Ayanna Hobbs is a dynamo of energy and enthusiasm. She’s just finished her weekly Japanese class, and thinks it the most amazing coincidence that her wonderful teacher happens to be from Yamanashi, the prefecture that lies so close to her heart." Japan Times, Feb 2, 2008 .
Japan's indigenous Ainu people still hunting for acceptance of their ancestral traditions This video looks at Atsushi Monbestsu, an Ainu man who is trying to live and support his family as an Ainu hunter. He talks about the importance of traditional Ainu hunting to his identity and also the discrimination he has experienced as Ainu. Reuters/South China Morning Post, 1 Nov 2019.
Future is Mine: Ainu My Voice TTOKYO応援宣言「開会式に登場!?先住民族・アイヌの歴史と文化を世界へ」his video tells the story of Kayano Rie san, her relation to her Ainu identity and culture, and especially her visit to the Seminole people, the indigenous people of Southern Florida. Future is Mine, 28 Jun 2020.