Helping the plight of ‘Japinos’

Ed Javier / Where l stand

TOKYO—Two weeks ago, this writer had the good fortune to visit this beautiful country and to witness first-hand the compassionate and caring nature of the Japanese people.

We met Mr.Teruyuki Satake, a medical doctor and president of the Kohokushinkokai Social Welfare Foundation based in Shiga prefecture (province). This non-governmental organization has been helping Japanese-Filipino (Japinos) children for eight years now.

The foundation mainly provides assistance to Japinos abandoned by their fathers in the Philippines by enabling them to go to Japan to finish their studies and to look for jobs.

The foundation also runs nursing homes and provides caregiving services for the elderly. We had the opportunity to visit one nursing facility in Nagahama City and were quite impressed with what we saw. It was comparable to a first-rate hospital in Manila and definitely better than some caregiving facilities we have seen in the United States.

The facility has high-tech medical equipment, and competent nurses and staff. Each patient has his own room. The common areas, recreational areas, and even overnight waiting rooms for families visiting loved ones rooms were spotless and clean.

According to Dr. Satake, the foundation provides Japinos 18-years old and above with job opportunities in these nursing homes. Aside from this, Japino minors are given the chance to go to school and improve their skills and knowledge.

The foundation also tries to find jobs for their Filipina mothers as soon as they arrive in Japan and help them facilitate the grant of a long-term visa on the condition that they do not work in nightclubs or in any of Japan’s entertainment strips.

We met with several Filipino kababayan working in the facility who expressed their gratitude and appreciation for what the foundation has done to uplift their lives and those of their families living in the Philippines.

Despite the generosity shown by the Foundation, however, the group of Dr. Satake has encountered some problems with some of our stubborn kababayan. This is because after training them with basic employment and communication skills, some Filipinos run away as soon as they arrive in Japan.

We do not understand this. After helping Japinos with their educational, living and travel expenses, there are still those who turn their back on the foundation and leave their work in the nursing facilities. Worse, these runaways seek work instead as entertainers in nightclubs because of higher pay.

It pains us to hear from our Japanese friends that in some cases, it is the mothers themselves who tell their children to run away and work in these bars and strips joints.  This merely perpetuates the cycle of abuse and exploitation that Japinos have to go through in their young lives.

This has given Filipino workers in Japan a bad image.

It is also so unfortunate for Filipinos who want to work in Japan especially now that the Japanese government in 2016 is easing up on its policy to ban non-skilled workers through a technical intern training program for foreigners to resolve labor-related shortages in their country.

If our kababayan and Japinos continue this practice of running away, Japan might just resort to getting workers from Indonesia and Vietnam, which already have bilateral free-trade agreements with them.

Our friend, Dr. Satake, however, said he is not losing hope. He still believes majority of Filipinos and Japinos seek to live a life with dignity. A big part of this involves having a decent way of making a living.

To come up with possible solutions, Dr. Satake, the Foundation’s Director Shigeru Toda and this writer visited the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo and communicated the concerns of the foundation. Our hardworking Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez was gracious enough to meet with us and recommended alternatives to address the problems.

The foundation has done its part, but it cannot do the job alone. The Philippines and Japanese governments have to work hand-in-hand. Japan has provided financial help for Filipinos working there, but our workers have also been a big help in taking care of the elderly in Japan.

Ambassador Lopez, humbly asked Dr. Satake not to give up on Japinos and to continue supporting them despite this regrettable practice of some who opt for the easy way out.

For his part, Dr. Satake, a true friend of the Philippines if there ever was one, committed his sincere desire to help. We are very fortunate to have Dr. Satake championing the cause of Japinos by giving them a fighting chance to succeed in life through education and employment.

Dr. Satake exemplifies the best qualities of the Japanese people: generosity, gentleness and kindness of heart. He has worked non-stop to help Japinos and their families live a better life. Let us not squander this wonderful opportunity by doing our part to make this partnership work.