Voice of Mr. Y, a Filipino man

I am Y from the Philippines. This year marks my 21st year since I came to Japan. Ever since I was a child, somewhere in my heart I had wanted to go to Japan.

In 1991 (when I was 30 years old), I went to Bahrain to work on repairing ships. Then, two years later, in 1993, I had a 30-day break from work, so I took the opportunity to fly to Okinawa, where I had friends. From that point on, I had no intention of returning to the Philippines. At first, I didn't know a word of Japanese at all, so I started from scratch. So I studied on my own, using a dictionary.

After coming to Okinawa, I stayed at a friend's house for a month while looking for work. However, I couldn't find a job, so I went to Yokohama, where my cousin lives. There, I got a job at a paint shop and worked there for 19 years.

When I was feeling down, I remembered my three sons in the Philippines. In the Philippines, it is difficult to find a job unless you have graduated from college. I had a hard time when I dropped out of college. I don't want my sons to go through the same thing, so I have a strong feeling that I have to work hard so that my three sons can graduate from college. This feeling has allowed me to work hard until now.

The happiest thing about being in Japan was meeting my current girlfriend at church 10 years ago. She is earnest and kind, and I hope to continue living in Japan with her. However, I currently do not have a resident status. She is also Filipino, but she was previously married to a Japanese man, so she has permanent resident status. In order to continue living the same way as before, I will need a resident status. In the future, I plan to marry her and obtain a resident status.