Students are seen during class at Colegio Sant'ana, a Brazilian school in the town of Aisho, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 12, 2021. (Mainichi/Koichi Kirino)
AISHO, Shiga -- Foreign nationals living in Japan are keeping a close eye on the upcoming House of Representatives election on Oct. 31 despite not having the right to vote, hoping that candidates and political parties that are supportive of them will secure wins.
Such individuals include technical intern trainees and others who work in the country while adapting to the local community. Like Japanese nationals, many of them have been greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic and are influenced by the various policies and systems of the national government.
Such observers include those involved with the Brazilian school Colegio Sant'ana in the town of Aisho, Shiga Prefecture, in western Japan. The school provides education and care for a roll of about 80, ranging from babies to third-year high school students. Established 23 years ago, the school consists of six classrooms and a cooking room in three buildings, including a two-story prefabricated schoolhouse. Subjects including Portuguese, English and arithmetic are taught at the institution.
Principal Kenko Nakata, center, is seen watching over children studying at Colegio Sant'ana, a Brazilian school in the town of Aisho, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 12, 2021. (Mainichi/Koichi Kirino)
The students' parents include Japanese-Brazilians who have been dispatched to work at auto parts factories in Shiga Prefecture. Factories have been shut down temporarily amid the spread of the coronavirus, and while there have been few layoffs, many workers have seen a significant decrease in their salaries. Therefore, households that cannot afford to pay tuition -- which costs between 30,000 and 50,000 yen (approximately between $264 and $440) per month per person -- have emerged one after the other. The school uses the tuition fees to pay salaries to its seven teachers, and to cover expenses for lunch food ingredients and gasoline for vehicles that pick up and drop off the children. It said that it has been in the red for a prolonged period.
Kenko Nakata, a 64-year-old second-generation Japanese-Brazilian, commented, "There are quite a few children who attend the Brazilian school as they were bullied or could not fit in at regular Japanese schools. We can't make them quit school just because they can't pay tuition." The school said it is currently soliciting donations to make up for deficits, and explained, "The parents of the children are working with their utmost effort and they support Japan's economy. I'd like the Japanese government to offer warm assistance to these parents and children, and also to the schools that the children attend."
At Colegio Sant'ana, classes are carried out with face guards and masks worn as preventative measures against coronavirus infections. However, the school does not receive national subsidies for purchasing hand sanitizers, as it has not been authorized as a "miscellaneous school." Nakata said, "We'd like support for preventing infections as well, for the sake of children's health."
Meanwhile, foreign residents who have come to Japan as technical intern trainees, as well as organizations supporting such individuals, have demanded improved working environments, among other measures. A 23-year-old Vietnamese man who arrived in Japan three years ago and worked as a technical intern at a manufacturing plant in Kagawa Prefecture revealed a distressing episode. "I sustained a bone fracture after my foot got trapped under a (falling) shelf, and the effects are ongoing, but I was told that a request for industrial accident compensation insurance would inconvenience the company. That was a tough experience," he said.
Colegio Sant'ana Principal Kenko Nakata, center, and children who attend the Brazilian school are seen in the town of Aisho, Shiga Prefecture, on Oct. 12, 2021. (Mainichi/Koichi Kirino)
In September 2020, a shelf collapsed on his right foot as he was trying to measure the size of a metallic mold, and three of his toes were fractured as a result. He was hospitalized for about three weeks, and when he took time off work due to pain after being discharged, he was told by the company to take paid leave.
Even after one year, the man is unable to bend his toes and experiences pain. After consulting with a support organization he found online and receiving advice to get examined at a hospital, he was diagnosed as having aftereffects of the injury in September this year. Although he asked the company to file a request with a labor standards inspection office to receive industrial accident compensation insurance, he was brushed off and was told, "If you want to apply, prepare the documents and do it yourself." After mulling it over, he filed an application with a labor standards inspection office in early October, and was apparently told that he would likely be eligible for payment.
The man said, "I was somehow able to apply as I've been studying Japanese on a regular basis, but I felt that I was being treated coldly. I'd like them to ensure that those in the same boat won't have to go through the same ordeal." The man has completed his training, and is currently preparing to return to his country.
Kyosuke Sakai, general secretary of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo)'s Osaka Heartful Union, who offered assistance to the man, commented, "There are suspicions that the company was concealing the work-related accident, and we've been hearing about similar problems from separate technical interns who work in other prefectures. If this current reality where technical interns and other foreigners who come to Japan are only seen as expendable laborers continues, there will no longer be people willing to come to Japan." He added, "What can be done, is to improve how foreign residents in Japan are treated. It shouldn't be unnatural if this issue becomes contested during the general election, when thinking about the future of Japan's economy, too."
(Japanese original by Koichi Kirino, Osaka City News Department)
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