A new NPO supporting Asians in Japan has launched; its 28-year-old leader is leading the initiative, working alongside those struggling with issues such as overstaying their visas and raising children.

Excerpt from the Tokyo Shimbun (morning edition), September 20, 2010.

APFS (Itabashi Ward, Tokyo), a civic group supporting Asians in Japan who face various problems such as overstaying their visas, employment, and childcare, became a non-profit organization this summer. Jotaro Kato (28), a young member, quit his job to take on the role of representative director. On the 19th, they moved their office to within the same ward, marking a new beginning. "We want to continue to be the eyes and hands of those who are struggling, and to be a presence that runs alongside them," he said enthusiastically. (Junji Okamura)

In the middle of this month, a woman in her 30s from Myanmar, who lives in Tokyo, visited the office. She had been asked to leave the country for overstaying her visa, but she couldn't leave Japan because she was raising her elementary school-aged daughter, who had a valid visa, on her own. Her situation was complicated by divorce and debt. Ms. Kato listened carefully to her story and promised to negotiate with the immigration bureau on her behalf.

A woman who learned about APFS through a magazine, seeing it as a kind of "refuge," said, "I don't really understand the Japanese system, so I rely on them a lot." Ms. Kato handles about 30 such cases and is busy running around every day.

In 2003, while a university student, Ms. Kato joined APFS after conducting research for her graduation thesis. She was deeply moved by a Bangladeshi man who remained cheerful despite having his finger amputated at work, and a Filipino family desperately trying to protect their child born in Japan, and she became deeply involved in the organization's activities. In March of this year, she quit her job at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies to "devote herself to this," and in July, when APFS was certified as a non-profit organization, she took on the role of representative director.

Becoming a non-profit organization has made it easier to receive government and private subsidies, and has opened up new avenues such as receiving consultation services from the government. "We aim for 'solution-oriented consultation' that doesn't pass problems around," says Kato. In the future, they plan to start more community-based initiatives, such as Japanese language classes for foreign parents and children.