About Kakehashi

Some years ago, a group of Filipino long-term residents, as well as Japanese nationals from various disciplines in Tokyo, began to notice the increasing number of children and youth coming to Japan from the Philippines encountered problems adjusting to life in Japan and Japanese society. They were usually born to a Filipino mother and Japanese father, and in addition to adapting to a new home and family life, they also had to adapt to a different culture and find a place where they felt that they really belonged.

Most of Kakehashi members have lived in Japan for several years now and from their encounters with these children and youth, perceived their common problems to be a lack of a place to belong to, communication with the family, and knowledge of the Japanese culture, in particular the Japanese language. From informal discussions about these concerns, they decided to form the group called KAKEHASHI, meaning “bridge that links” in Japanese. It officially started in July 2017 and in keeping with its name, are networking with leaders of various Filipino groups here in Japan with similar goals.

Our Mission

Kakehashi helps children and young adults of mixed Japanese and Filipino heritage bridge the language and cultural barriers when they move to Japan. Kakehashi believes that by overcoming these barriers, this age group significantly adjusts better to live in Japan.

In 2019, Filipinos topped the list of foreigners in Japan admitted into Juvenile Training School and were second in the number of juveniles placed under probationary supervision. Part of Kakehashi’s mission is to eventually see a drop in this number.

The Approach

To overcome these barriers, Kakehashi will:

Provide its beneficiaries with Pre-Departure Orientation and Post-Arrival Programs to ease their integration into Japanese society, by equipping them with the proper mindset and skills to lead wholesome and productive lives in Japan;

Kakehashi also welcomes consultations by and collaborations with other groups of similar interests working to uplift the well-being and quality of life of children and young adults of mixed Japanese and Filipino heritage.

Raise the current levels of awareness and knowledge of Japanese and Philippine governments, as well as non-government organizations, on present-day migrant issues through seminars and workshops. Hopefully, this will lead to the development and implementation of more inclusive policies at the local and national government levels.

Empower parents to bolster their support for their children, and

Long Term Goal

Kakehashi seeks to develop and institutionalize programs that will help children and young adults of mixed Japanese and Filipino heritage not just bridge the language and cultural barriers in Japan but also promote and protect their rights and welfare, foster a closer relationship between these youth and the Filipino communities in Japan and Japanese society in general, and are provided with the best available tools for the brightest possible future.

Meet Kakehashi

Edwin Corros

Fr. Edwin has been a Scalabrinian Missionary Priest for the past 28 years and counting. Since 2014, he has been the Assistant Director of the Catholic Tokyo International Center (CTIC).

Shuko Ebihara

Shuko Ebihara is the founder and director of kuriya, a non-profit organization that provides career education and capacity-building opportunities for immigrant youth (age 16 to 26) in Japan. She worked at the International Organization for Migration in Helsinki and Tokyo, and the Japan Foundation where she was in charge of various cultural exchange projects.

Roderick Enriquez

As Managing Director of PNB Japan, Rod interacts regularly with Filipino migrants and workers and helps address their needs particularly in sending support to their families in the Philippines. He also leads his team in giving orientation seminars to newly- arrived Filipino trainees in Japan.

Megumi Hara

Megumi went to the Philippines when she was 16, which changed her life. Since then, she has traveled back and forth between Japan and the Philippines for research purposes. She is currently teaching in college and organizing space for migrant children in Osaka as well.

Takako Yamato Ide

As a child, Takako spent two years in the Philippines with her family. She attended kindergarten and later, studied Filipino language at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies which allowed her to cross-enroll at the University of the Philippines. Since then Takako has been actively helping Filipinos living in Japan with their studies and job-hunting. She also works as an interpreter and is a teacher of tea ceremony. Takako Yamato Ide.

Noriaki Isobe

Artist and Creative Director of a media production studio. He’s also a JFC who doing volunteer works.

Jan Coleen Melecio

Coleen is a full-blooded Filipino. As a permanent resident of Japan since her childhood, she grew up experiencing both Philippine and Japanese cultures and has always been interested in tackling problems that come in a multicultural environment.

Razel Andrea Navalta

Razel is currently a Ph.D. student at the Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University. Her research involves social networks of Filipino migrants in Japan. She has been living in Japan for 7 years now and is currently employed part time at the Philippine Consulate General in Nagoya.

Chiho Ogaya

As a migration scholar, Chiho is happy to be a part of such a great project as Kakehashi. She is a professor of sociology at the Ferris University in Yokohama, Japan. She has been working on the issues of JFC and migrant women, and their support organizations.

Patrick Razo

Patrick is a MEXT scholar completing his Masters in Economics at Yokohama National University. He was the former President and is the current Vice President of the Association of Filipino Students in Japan (AFSJ)

Bituin Shimada

Bituin Pablo-Shimada obtained a degree in Japanese Language from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies as a Monbusho (Japanese Ministry of Education) scholar. She is a court interpreter and one of the founding members of Kakehashi.

Toshiko Maya Sonozaki

Maya studied at the University of the Philippines and now works as an interpreter in English, Tagalog and Japanese. She has also been involved in NGOs focused on the rights of women and children

Sachi Takahata

Sachi is a sociologist teaching at the University of Shizuoka. Since attending U.P. Diliman as an exchange student, she has been doing research on Filipino migrants in Japan, especially in Osaka, Nagoya and Shizuoka.

Junichi Takeda

Junichi is a JFC who works as a consultant in Tokyo. An advocate of mental health and minority awareness for Filipinos living in Japan, he wants to help other Filipinos break the stigma of being limited to only blue-collar jobs

Yurika Tsuda

Yurika Tsuda was born and raised in a bi-cultural family, lived in the Philippines and the United States during her childhood and adolescent years. Studied Asian society and culture in BA, and worked in a recruitment company as a consultant. Currently, as a licensed psychologist, have worked in a psychiatric clinic, child welfare center, a pediatric hospital, and schools, etc.

Johanna Zulueta

Johanna Zulueta is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Toyo University. She does research related to migration, ethnicity, and gender.

Be A Volunteer

Kakehashi is a volunteer group working to change the lives of their beneficiaries, including their families.

Come, be the change with us!

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