April 19, 2022
Japanese Communist Party members of the House of Representatives Miyamoto Toru and Tamura Takaaki as well as JCP member of the House of Councilors Kurabayashi Akiko (JCP vice chair) on April 18 attended a meeting in the Diet building that second-generation Japanese returnees from China held to seek public assistance.
They are second-generation Japanese returnees of the Japanese wartime orphans left behind in China at the end of WWII. They have so far gathered 27,000 signatures on a petition calling for revisions of the "Act on Measures on Expediting of Smooth Return of Remaining Japanese in China and for Assistance in Self-Support after Permanent Return to Japan" so that the law can be applicable to second-generation returnees as well.
At present, the law does not cover second-generation Japanese who returned to Japan permanently with their parents (war-displaced orphans) from China. Therefore, many of them have difficulty in finding good jobs because of the language barrier and prejudice in Japanese society, having no choice but to live on welfare.
A second-generation returnee in his early 70s who now lives in the Kyusyu region said, "By doing simple jobs like grass cutting and dish washing and with my pension benefits of only 19,000 yen a month, I feed my family. My life is very hard. I want to live my last days with dignity. We, second-generation returnees, hope that the Japanese government will grant our request."
Pointing out that 60% of second-generation returnees receive public assistance, Omori Takeshi, vice president of the Japan-China Friendship Association, said, "In order to support them in their old age, the law should be revised."
They are second-generation Japanese returnees of the Japanese wartime orphans left behind in China at the end of WWII. They have so far gathered 27,000 signatures on a petition calling for revisions of the "Act on Measures on Expediting of Smooth Return of Remaining Japanese in China and for Assistance in Self-Support after Permanent Return to Japan" so that the law can be applicable to second-generation returnees as well.
At present, the law does not cover second-generation Japanese who returned to Japan permanently with their parents (war-displaced orphans) from China. Therefore, many of them have difficulty in finding good jobs because of the language barrier and prejudice in Japanese society, having no choice but to live on welfare.
A second-generation returnee in his early 70s who now lives in the Kyusyu region said, "By doing simple jobs like grass cutting and dish washing and with my pension benefits of only 19,000 yen a month, I feed my family. My life is very hard. I want to live my last days with dignity. We, second-generation returnees, hope that the Japanese government will grant our request."
Pointing out that 60% of second-generation returnees receive public assistance, Omori Takeshi, vice president of the Japan-China Friendship Association, said, "In order to support them in their old age, the law should be revised."
