At our share meetings, foreign residents have a chance to share their thoughts and feelings about their problems concerning life in Japan.
This was the 6th time in FY2009, and we chose the very broad topic of “Multicultural Society as Seen by Foreign Residents”, but still we manged to share our experiences and thoughts in a very relaxed atmosphere as always.
Since most of this time’s participants were from the Philippines, first we talked about the cultural differences between the Philippines and Japan.
Participants mentioned different aspects of faith, television programmes, speech patterns or other ways of showing respect and finally care homes as a form of elderly life.
Additionally, the topic of prejudice (stereotyping) by Japanese towards foreign residents was also raised.
For example, if some finds a bag of trash violating selective guidelines, in many cases foreign residents are blamed “because they are foreigners”. Occasionally, such untracable trash is intentionally brought in front of their homes.
To eliminate such prejudice against foreigners, we have to focus on communitation with Japanese nationals at work or through participation to community events. According to some opinions, it is also important to let others know that there are also foreign residents like us.
However, the participants basically believe in the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”, so some of them even said “If you live in Japan, you should adapt to the Japanese. If you cannot take it, maybe you had better go home to the Philippines.”
At first these words may seem harsh, but we must not forget that it is the opinion of people who have been living in Japan for more than ten years successfully. At this share meeting, we felt lucky to hear such meaningful words.
* We receive grants from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for our share meetings.
About Us
- APFS
- APFS was established in the late 1980's when “newcomers” (the latest wave of immigrants) were making their way to Japan in great numbers. Japan was at the height of an economic bubble. However, it was long before the word “multiculturalism” became widely acknowledged in Japanese society, and foreign residents in Japan often had to face harsh reality of prejudice and oppression at their work place and in their daily lives . Under such circumstances, APFS was formed by Bangladeshi and Japanese members with the aim of creating a flourishing multicultural society in Japan based on a trusting relationship among its members. APFS started its history by fostering friendship between the Bangladeshi and Japanese, but we today have over 3200 members from 13 different countries. Living in Japan as a non-Japanese resident can be quite tough sometimes., particularly if you are a undocumented migrant. APFS provide support to non-Japanese residents through our consultation service that covers various issues such as medical care, visa status and labour problems. We also put a lot of effort into education programs to raise awareness regarding cultural diversity in Japanese society.