We held a workshop titled "Thinking about Japan in Five Years – The Wishes of a High School Girl with Foreign Roots."

On Saturday, May 23, 2015, we successfully held the workshop, "Thinking about Japan in Five Years - The Wishes of a High School Girl with Foreign Roots."

More than 20 people participated in this workshop, and we listened to the stories of Sarah, a first-year high school student from Iran, and her mother.

Sarah came to Japan from Iran with her mother when she was two years old. She has lived in Japan her whole life, so Japanese is her native language. When she was in elementary school, she sometimes struggled to make friends because she looked different from Japanese people, but she always tried to be cheerful and get others to open up to her.

When she entered her third year of junior high school, she encountered a major obstacle due to her "undocumented residency" status. She was notified that she could not take the entrance exam for a Tokyo metropolitan high school. She said she was deeply shocked by the reality that she might not even be able to take the exam while her friends were talking about it. Ultimately, with the support of her school teachers and the support group, she was able to take the entrance exam for a Tokyo metropolitan high school. Due to financial circumstances, a Tokyo metropolitan high school was Sarah's only option for high school. She didn't succumb to the pressure of having to pass, studied hard, and successfully passed the exam. She told us that she was truly happy when she received the news of her acceptance.

Now that Sarah is in high school, she's enjoying her new student life, but she also feels the hardships of being an "illegal immigrant" every day.

I chose the international course because I wanted to study English, but I can't participate in overseas language training... I feel like I have to work many times harder because I can't learn authentic English from native speakers.

Sarah also knows that because she cannot get insurance, she will have to pay all of her medical expenses herself. She remembers how difficult it was for her mother when she had oral herpes before, and had to pay 50,000 yen for consultations and medication.

Due to various circumstances, even after her residence permit expired, her mother decided to stay in Japan with Sarah. As Sarah grows older, her mother is also getting older little by little, and her anxieties about the future, such as her health, are growing. However, above all else, she strongly desires to continue supporting Sarah as a mother, so that her future will be bright.

I asked Sarah this question: "I imagine you faced many difficulties and experienced a lot of sadness and pain because you didn't have a residence permit. What helped you overcome those challenges?"

Sarah said this:
"I have great respect for my mother. Her presence is my support."

In the subsequent group work, participants shared their honest feelings and thoughts after listening to Sarah and her family's story. Here are some of the comments.

• I felt the strong bond between parent and child. Sarah said that she needs to become stronger in order to overcome this difficult situation, but I think it is Japanese society that needs to change.

• When I talked to people around me about foreigners without resident status, I was met with negative comments like they were criminals. I think that this kind of image exists because people don't have the opportunity to learn about those who, like the parent and child in this case, are unable to return to their home country for various reasons. I realized that in order to eliminate prejudice, it is necessary to slowly but surely spread the word to the people around us.

While there are certainly problems with Japanese laws and systems, the fundamental issue lies in the fact that Japan is even making the decision to separate parents and children. I think it's absurd that the basic principle that parents and children need each other doesn't apply to foreigners who don't have resident status.

• As human beings, regardless of whether they have a residence status or not, children go to schools in the area where they live, and adults work to support their families. Instead of excluding "foreigners" from the community based on their nationality or residence status, we must not forget that they are also citizens.

• I think young people in Japan today have a more flexible way of thinking than adults. I want to convey to young people the situation faced by families without legal residency status.

At the end of the workshop, Sarah's mother said this with a radiant smile.
"I feel so much better today. I'm so glad that you all listened to our honest feelings and that we were able to exchange opinions."

It was a safe space for everyone, where people could speak freely. We at APFS will continue our efforts so that this kind of space can spread even a little bit throughout Japanese society five years from now.