Special Permit at the End of the Year!

 In recent months, the re-detention of undocumented foreign members followed one another. Many families had to spend the seasons without a father…

 In the midst of these sad times we received important news on Christmas Eve! An Iranian family under our support was granted Special Permit for Residence! This family has spent the last three to four years without knowing their future, but finally this year they can expect a peaceful New Year☆ We are really happy for them…

Thanks to these fortunate events, APFS staff also feels empowered! We will continue our fight next year!

Happy New Year to All!

It was Fun!

 At APFS, we had our annual Christmas Party!



 This year we had both good times and bad times, but this time of the year we always gather and forget about everything!

 We enjoyed songs, games, present exchange etc. But as every year, R-rated games were the biggest hit. Unfortunately, I cannot write about them here… If your are interested, you just have to come and visit us next year☆

 Participants brought delicious meals from all over the world♪ We felt like in paradise with our stomachs filled.

 Unfortunately, our work at APFS usually has to do something with the dark side of life. At the same, we feel lucky at times like this when we can spend time in borderless fun.

Handing Out Food

 Originally two young members of APFS staff started this BLOG…  For me, this is the first time to write.
 I feel the pressure, so I will try to write some more from now on.
 It is not exactly the latest news, but this is the report of our food distribution at the end of November.
 We are in the middle of an unprecedented recession.

The living conditions of undocumented foreigners are also getting worse…
 We thought that we also have to do something, so we started our food support project at APFS.
 We received help from “Second Harvest Japan” in the form of almost 300 kg of rice, beverages, and snacks for our foreign families.

 The rice included the famous brand of “Hitomebore”, and we had cookies from a famous coffee shop chain. It was more than satisfying. 

 Instead of one-sided distribution by Japanese staff, rather receiving foreign members took the lead and shared the food.
 At first we did not know how to divide the 300 kg of rice, but Filipino and Burmese members solved the problem in a swift and practical way. Everything goes smoother if we help each other!
 Those families, who received from the food, told us that it really helps and that they are grateful.
I would like to thank everyone who took part in this food support project!
Thank you all!


 “Honestly, we would like to work and help ourselves,”
Many undocumented foreigners have such thoughts.

 However, various barriers exist for them because of their status.
Still, it is also true that they have children.
These children may be hungry all the time.
That is something we do not want to let happen.
On the other hand, we also think that it is not favorable to continue only with food distribution in the long term.
 Even if it is difficult, I believe that everyone should find a way to self-reliance.
The damage inflicted by this year’s recession seems to be tremendous.
We are still in an emergency state.
Hence, I think that we need to keep up with handing out food for the time being.
 Next time, I will report on the following.

Iranian Reunion!?

 Last Friday evening, we gathered with old Iranian members who received Special Permits for Residence in the past. By now, all of them have stable jobs in Japan, and their children go to universities or work. They have decent and happy lives. Some of them do not have the chance to meet regularly, so they met actually after 7-8 years, having nostalgic talks. We originally planned to gather at an Iranian restaurant in Roppongi, but could not get a reservation, so we had to go to an Indian place instead run by the same owner. In the end, we had food delivered from the Iranian restaurant. Lamb barbeque and stew, garlic yoghurt etc., Iranian food is not very spicy, hence easily digestible to anyone. It was delicious♪



 Seeing that they live happily after all the hardship, we also gained strength from them.

Volunteer BLOG

　Greetings to everyone! I am a 4th grade collage student doing volunteer work at APFS☆

I was asked if I want to write to this BLOG. I am a bit confused, but I will try to do my best!
I learned about APFS, when we visited the office with my our collage class♪

Since then, I have been keeping up the relationship as a volunteer☆

At my class, I originally studied about immigration issues in Japan.


Next, a few words about my work…

Preparing flyers for events, editing this BLOG, it sounds big, but in fact it consits only of simple tasks☆

Well, unfortunately maybe that is all I can do (‐‐;)
 As you can see from this BLOG, we have many interesting events at APFS☆

Many things are still new for me, but I would like to continue with my activities together with everyone♪

International Marriage of Filipino Women

Today we welcomed Prof. Hiroshi Harashima from the Japan Lutheran College who held a lecture on the present conditions regarding international marriage in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, Filipino women who marry Japanese men are required to undergo a guidance before moving to Japan. At this guidance, they are provided with necessary information for settlement in Japan. The re-entry permit system, the conditions for the acquisition of permanent residence, double nationality of children, useful knowledge on Japanese marriage life (characteristics of Japanese husbands (?) or getting on well with the in-laws etc.) are discussed.

The Japanese government on the arrival side should learn from this type of support by the Filipino government on the departure side. For example, we need to improve the welcoming system on the municipal level, such as conducting initial orientations during foreigner registration. We also belive that NGOs supporting foreigners like APFS must also consider this and search for new fields of activities.

* This lecture was sponsored by the “Daiwa SRI Fund”.

Happy Birthday!

We opened a birthday party for Mr. Atsushi Nishida who has been engaded in the support of people from Myanmar for many-many years. Mr. Nishida taught Japanese for more than 2,000 people and provided consultative support too. He is already over 80, but still continues his energetic activities. For example, once in a week he visits peoples from Myanmar who are detained in the Immigration Bureau in Shinagawa.




At APFS we were also helped out many times in various situations by Mr. Nishida. We hope that our good relationship will continue for many more years in the future!

2nd Japanese Cooking Lesson

On November 15th (Sun) we held our second cooking lesson. This time’s menu consisted of miso soup from kombu and dried shiitake stock with Japanese littleneck shellfish and komatsuna, mushroom rice prepared in ceramic pot and salad with yuzu and black pepper dressing. While fighting for opening the shellfish, we could learn the basics of Japanese cousine.


The participants were most satisfied not only with the miso soup but also with the rice which turned out to be rich and tasteful in spite of the fact that we used only natural ingredients. As a form of Japanese dessert, we baked sweet potatos in a pan which was also a great success. Unexpectedly, it might have been this time’s most popular dish.

This was the last time for Japanese cooking. With it, our Asian cooking lessons which we began from June ended in fame. Many thanks to all participants!

In Korea!

We visited immigrant supporting organizations in Korea.

During our four days and three nights we visited five NGOs and one university. We conducted hearings on each organization’s activities and exchanged information on recent circumstances of immigrants in Korea and Japan.

Korean immigration policies are very similar to Japanese ones, so several times during our discussions we felt similarities and sympathy as supporters in the same situation. For example, in Japan the campaing for decreasing the number of undocumented foreign residents by half in five years started in 2003, while the same five year campaign launched in Korea last year. Under the current Lee Myung-bak administration the cooperative relationship between the government and NGOs which was established during the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration collapsed. In fact, many NGO staff complained that these are difficult times for support organizations. (However, the immigration policies of the new Japanese administration are still unknown.)

Unfortunately, during our stay we had to face with the unusually cold weather. The maximum temperature on one of the four days was only 5oC. Thanks to the warm rice congee and Jjigae, traditional tea and other delicious Korean food, we managed to have a satisfying trip despite these harsh weather conditions.

ASIA FAIR Held on October 30th!

Actiually, this upgrade was quite late. Sorry about that...

APFS held its annual event, the Asia Fair on October 30th (Sun)!

The actual program started at 11:00, but our staff and volunteers gathered and began with the preparations from 9:00. In the rain and chilling cold all of them worked on the tents and their booths. Since only a few visitors came before noon, we were a bit worried, but in the end after the rain stopped in the afternoon we managed to reach the yearly average.

We had food stalls from the Philippines, Myanmar, Bangaldesh, Pakistan, China, Iran, Korea and Hungary (special participation), so we could experience each country’s flavors. In the meantime, on the stage bands and singers from Bangladesh, the Philippines, Iran and Burma were performing and visitors enjoyed themselves dancing and singing.

APFS members from different countries with various backgrounds support the fair every year from behind the scenes. At home they are preparing foods and trying all kinds of tactics to sell it. We are always amazed to see how they work together and make the Asia Fair a success. Hopefully, the Asia Fair will be held with the same multicultural power next year too, so we are waiting for everyone to visit the fair again!