Japanese Senator pays courtesy visit to Sen. Raffy Tulfo for a mission

JAPANESE SENATOR PAYS COURTESY VISIT TO SEN. RAFFY TULFO FOR A MISSION

MyJapanese Senator Ayaka Shiomura paid a courtesy visit to the office of Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo at the Philippine Senate in Pasay for an official meeting. Senator Ayaka signified her interest to meet Sen. Raffy because of his Japanese heritage -- one of which is his grandfather being a full-blooded Japanese.

Senator Ayaka initially discussed her intent to address the issues faced by war-displaced Nikkei-jin in the country being the primary purpose of her official visit. The term "Nikkei-jin" refers to individuals born in the Philippines to either a Japanese mother or father during and before World War II who until today remain stateless or without nationality. There are only an estimated 134 Nikkei-jin known to have been remaining in the country who are now in their ages 80-90 years old.

Senator Raffy committed to possibly pass legislation in order to assist the Japanese government in locating the remaining Nikkei-jin and help them gain recognition as Japanese citizens with the support of the Philippine government.

Sen. Ayaka was joined by Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center (PNLSC) Representative Director Norihiro Inomata, Board Member Shun Ohno, and their legal counsel Atty. Josue Sim Zuniega. Also invited in the said meeting was Sen. Tulfo's half-Japanese aunt, Pacita "Chit" Teshiba Aguirre, who is the sister of his mother, Mommy Caring.

Senator Raffy also had the opportunity to be interviewed by Japanese media outlets which he proudly shared the Japanese traits he inherited from his mother, Mommy Caring, who is half-Japanese--such as generosity, respectfulness, honesty, and helpfulness. These values, he said, shaped him into the public servant he is today.

Meanwhile, as Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, Senator Tulfo expressed his deep gratitude and praise to Japanese employers for their excellent treatment of the 50,700 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Japan, as well as the 341,518 Filipinos residing there. In fact, Senator Tulfo proudly shared that every year, 6,000 Filipino seafarers are deployed to various Japanese maritime vessels, which impressed Senator Ayaka.

Senator Ayaka also mentioned that she is a member of the Defense Committee in Japan's House of Councillors which is the equivalent to the Philippine Senate as their Upper Chamber, thus she also expressed her interest in discussing peace and cooperation in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In response, Sen. Raffy proposed that this would be a great opportunity to explore the possibility of joint maritime patrols between the Philippines and Japan in the WPS in order to demonstrate Japan's support for promoting peace and unity in the region to which the Japanese lawmaker agreed. Sen. Ayaka replied that they too are wanting to push for the establishment of a " gfpeaceful zone," a similar effort to that of Japan and South Korea.

Finally, Senator Raffy also had an interview with Japanese writer and PNLSC Board Member Shun Ohno, regarding his Japanese roots as a Nikkei-jin. This is part of a book Ohno is writing about successful Nikkei-jin in the Philippines.

JAPANESE SENATOR NAG-COURTESY CALL KAY SEN. RAFFY PARA SA ISANG MISYON

Nag-courtesy visit sa tanggapan ni Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo sa Senado si Japanese Senator Ayaka Shiomura para sa isang opisyal na pakikipagpulong ngayong araw Agosto 18. Ninais makilala ng Japanese Senator si Sen. Raffy sapagkat siya ay may lahing hapon partikular na sa side ng kanyang ina.

Kasama rin sa nasabing pagbisita sina Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center (PNLSC) Representative Director Norihiro Inomata, Board Member Shun Ohno at Atty. Josue Sim Zuniega na kanilang legal counsel. Inanyayahan din ni Idol ang kanyang half-japanese na tiyahin na si Pacita "Chit" Teshiba Aguirre na kapatid ni Mommy Caring.

Agad tinalakay ni Sen. Ayaka ang kanyang pakay sa pagpunta sa Pilipinas dahil nais niyang tugunan ang problema ng mga war-displaced Nikkei-jin. Ang terminong Nikkei-jin ay ginagamit sa mga pinanganak dito sa Pilipinas sa Hapones na ama o ina noong bago magsimula at kasagsagan ng World War II ngunit hanggang ngayon ay walang nasyonalidad o tinatawag na "stateless persons." Sa kasalukuyan, tinatayang nasa 134 Nikkei-jin na lang ang natitira sa bansa na nasa edad 80-90.

Nangako si Sen. Raffy na patuloy siyang makikipagtulungan sa Japanese government at pag-aaralan ang posibleng paggawa ng lehislasyon para tuluyang mahanap ang mga natitirang Nikkei-jin at makilala sila bilang Japanese citizens sa tulong ng Philippine government.

Nabanggit din ni Sen. Ayaka na siya ay miyembro ng kanilang Defense Committee sa Japanese House of Councillors o katumbas ng ating Senado na kung saan ay nais din nilang pag-usapan ang kapayapaan sa West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Kaya naman dito ay iminungkahi ni Sen. Raffy na magandang oportunidad ito para pag-aralan ang posibleng joint maritime patrols ng Pilipinas at Japan sa WPS upang ipakita ang pakikiisa ng Japan sa pagtataguyod ng kapayapaan sa rehiyon. Sinang-ayunan ito ni Sen. Ayaka at sinabing maging sila ay nais isulong ang paglatag ng "peaceful zone" katulad ng sa Japan at South Korea.

Samantala, bilang Chairperson ng Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, ipinaabot naman ni Sen. Tulfo kay Sen. Ayaka ang kanyang labis na pasasalamat at pagpuri sa mga Japanese employers dahil sa magandang pakikitungo nila sa 50,700 OFWs doon maging sa 341,518 Pinoy na naninirahan sa Japan. Sa katunayan, ipinagmalaki rin ni Sen. Tulfo na kada taon ay may 6,000 Filipino seafarers ang nadedeploy sa iba't ibang Japanese maritime vessels na siya namang ikinabilib ni Sen. Ayaka.

Nagkaroon din ng pagkakataon na makapanayam ni Sen. Idol ang mga Japanese media kung saan ay talaga namang ipinagmalaki niya ang namana niyang pag-uugaling Hapon mula kay Mommy Caring na half-Japanese gaya ng pagiging mapagbigay, magalang, tapat at matulungin sa kapwa. Itong umano ang siyang humubog sa kanya bilang isang public servant.

Matapos nito ay nakapanayam din ni Sen. Raffy ang Japanese writer at PNLSC Board member na si Shun Ohno tungkol sa kanyang Japanese roots bilang isang Nikkei-jin. Ito ay bahagi ng isinusulat ni Ohno na libro tungkol sa mga naging successful Nikkei-jin sa bansa.

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