We held our 2021 Annual General Meeting.

On Sunday, June 20, 2021, APFS held its regular general meeting at the APFS office. Following last year's situation, the meeting was held under the COVID-19 pandemic and state of emergency, and although many members submitted proxies, six regular members attended. The meeting included a report on last year's activities, specifically the status of the consultation services. It was reported that the first half of last year saw a large number of consultations related to COVID-19, and that recently there has been an increase in consultations from asylum seekers. Three of the members we support obtained special permission to stay in Japan last year, and all of them were children of families in irregular immigration. In each case, the children received special permission to stay in Japan when their parents returned to their home countries, and it was mentioned that APFS is now providing consultations to these children regarding their daily lives and their residency status. This year, APFS plans to continue focusing on consultation services, and there was also a suggestion to plan events while monitoring the COVID-19 situation.

The current financial situation is described as quite dire, and the need to apply for grants and secure new supporters was discussed.
Finally, it was announced that APFS founder Katsuo Yoshinari would be retiring, and everyone discussed continuing to work together to further develop APFS.