MANILA – Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs TSUGE Yoshifumi met with descendants and those related to war-displaced Japanese nationals, also called “Filipino Nikkei-jin”, to learn about their current situation and to relay the efforts being done by the Japanese government to assist them.
While in the country, Minister Tsuge met members of the Manila Central Luzon Nippi Association, Inc., led by its president Mr. Stephen Querico A. Buñi and Secretary General of Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center (PNLSC) Mr. Norihiro Inomata on Wednesday.
Buñi and Inomata both discussed the current situation and activities aimed at identifying Filipino Nikke-jin and restoring their Japanese nationality.
During the meeting, second-generation Filipino Nikke-jin Mr. Jose Takei also shared his own experiences and hardships over the years.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs TSUGE with Mr. TAKEI Jose and his eldest daughter, Ms. Marissa Romero (Photo and caption courtesy of Embassy of Japan in the PH)
Earlier, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines reaffirmed its support for the many remaining Filipino Nikkei-jin in the country, when Ambassador ENDO Kazuya met with members of the Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai Rengokai (Federation of Japanese Descendants) in his residence in Makati City last week.
This year, the Government of Japan has contracted the Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center to conduct the “18th Survey of Second-Generation Filipino-Nikkei-jin”, wherein individual interviews for Japanese nationality acquisition were scheduled from May to July 2024 in Cebu and Davao.
In its notice posted on its website, the Japanese Embassy reiterated its “support for those wishing to acquire Japanese nationality” by conducting interviews, not limited to the mentioned regions, but all remaining Japanese in different locations in the Philippines who wish to acquire Japanese nationality.
According to the Embassy, Japanese nationals in the Philippines were forcibly repatriated to Japan, leaving behind their Filipino wives and children, often referred to as “remaining Japanese’ or 2nd Generation Nikkei-jin.
“Many of them went into hiding in the Philippine mountains or remote areas and were forced into impoverished living conditions, enduring a prolonged post-war period without proper identification and nationality acquisition,” the Embassy noted.
Interviews were already conducted in Linapacan and Coron in Palawan; and National Capital Region (NCR) in May 2024.
Interviews for Cebu and Panay are scheduled for August 2024; while interviews in Mindanao are yet to be confirmed, according to the Embassy’s website.
The Embassy of Japan will continue to provide its utmost support to as many remaining Filipino Nikkei-jin as possible, to facilitate their swift restoration of Japanese nationality and smooth return to Japan, the Embassy reiterated.
