refugee

INTERVIEWS

A lot of luck led me to Japan. Thanks to the help of many people, I was able to survive in Japan as a refugee. I am grateful to all the people I’ve met.

November 14 2023

日本語 Interview by Isao Tokuhashi Edited by Jennifer A. Hoff info@myeyestokyo.com   Yoshihiro Paul Kitagawa Former Refugee and Company Owner My Eyes Tokyo has interviewed many people who have come to Japan from various countries. Some of them are refugees, and others are supporters of refugees. We would like to introduce to you Yoshihiro Kitagawa, who arrived in Japan as a refugee, and later became the president of a company. Aw Wanping, an entrepreneur from Singapore, whom we interviewed in the spring of this year (2023), was who told us about Kitagawa. She said, “I have a business partner who

INTERVIEWS

Voice of the Day Vol.2 – M.A. (Refugee)

June 20 2016

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   This interview series celebrates each national day in the world through an interview. Today June 20 is “World Refugee Day”. So the story of the day is brought to you from a refugee. M.A. has been in Japan since 2014 and working as an English instructor. Let’s take a closer look at his journey to Japan.  日本語   My country used to be calm Back then, and before the war broke out, everything was better. My country was calm and stable. We had a wonderful life, simple, yet wonderful. My friends

INTERVIEWS

Refugees can change their lives by themselves as long as they are in Japan.

September 22 2010

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   Kanako Iwase & Arusha（Part2） Nail salon manager We are bringing you part two of the interview with Kanako Iwase, a manager of the nail salon called “Arusha”, which hires refugees as manicurists. In this part, I tell you about her present state and future vision. *Interview at Arusha (Minato-ku, Tokyo) *Edited by Daniel Penso 校正協力：ダニエル・ペンソ 日本語   Where did people who took nail art training come from? All over the world. They’ve been given official refugee status and had valid working visas. In order to eliminate the risk of brushing

INTERVIEWS

I didn’t know about refugees in Japan at all.

September 22 2010

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   Kanako Iwase & Arusha（Part1） Nail salon manager We’re introducing you to a nail salon called “Arusha“, which is managed by a Japanese young entrepreneur. There are some differences between Arusha and other nail salons. 1) All of the manicurists of Arusha are foreigners. 2) Most of them are refugees. But there’s no somber atmosphere at all in the salon. They welcome you with very friendly smiles. And while you get your nails done, manicurists and customers enjoy talking. I interviewed Kanako Iwase, a representative of Arusha. This interview is divided into

INTERVIEWS

I want to be a refugee who lives an independent life.

October 30 2006

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com   N.Y Refugee (Has been in Japan since ’92) Refugee – You may have heard this word many times. Its definition is: “a person who’s owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country”. N.Y has been in Japan as a refugee for about 20 years. There are many people