The New Nikkeijin

Yesterday, September 24, 2009, I attended a conference on the Japanese-Filipino children, mostly born out of wedlock and are now being recognized as Japanese nationals if their births are acknowledged legally by their Japanese fathers or mothers. It was sponsored by the International Organization for Migration

I feel sorry for those kids, who are now being called by another nomenclature that will in no way erase the stigma of their being born out of wedlock for instance, or their mothers having worked in bars and clubs in Japan and getting pregnant by some Japanese men.

They were called "Japino" when some Japanese lawyers started taking up their causes initiated by some overstaying Filipino women, who wanted to have the permit to work and stay in Japan permanently using their children as leverage, and worse, even take advantage of the welfare granted to single parents as stipulated by some Child Welfare Law.

The kids are now being called "Shin Nikkeijin"(New People of Japanese descent) to kind of differentiate them from Brazilians, Peruvians, etc. of Japanese ancestry, who flocked suddenly into Japan in the early 90's, and their repatriation paid for by the Japanese government when they could not adjust well to life in Japan.

The Shin Nekkeijin, on the other hand, are told that they cannot expect the same kind of benefit with agencies supposed to take charge of their cases still trying to cope with the new Supreme Court ruling on them.

At least, one of the kids, Angelique Shimo, has the mind to protest against this new term applicable to them that will definitely not improve the tarnished image projected by yellow journalism which called their mothers "Japayuki." The only beneficiaries whatsoever by this new name will be those people buttering their breads with this issue, which is in fact a consequence of the neglect of the Marcos administration to stop the deployment of the so-called "Japayukis" in the 70's and 80's, the naivette of Mrs. Cory Aquino in making it a moneymaking business for her government, and the people,who were/are nowhere nearer to finding solutions to the problems on hand then and now.