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”.