 whenever asked where are you from I always get confused because it comes back to my mind in another question where is my home anyways is it home as in the place of birth the place where I spent my childhood is it my nationality or my parents original countries usually my answer depends on the context of the conversation or person I'm talking to because for me home is not here or there it's about finding home today I'm privileged to address you all I'm quite nervous to speak to such an important body but as I accept this privilege I would like to remember my ancestors my parents and all others with migration experiences I tied with mine my task here today is not only to share my story but also to give a voice to the children of migrants who are desperately in need of helping my life has been a continuous process of emigration and immigration I have a Japanese father met my Filipino mother by doing research work in the Philippines except for my eldest brother who was born in the Philippines three other children in my family were born and grew up in different cities in Japan my nationality is Japanese and I lost my Filipino nationality upon reaching the age of 20 as a child until I became an adult I went to nine schools in Japan in the Philippines and in the United States presently I live and work in Japan there's a common belief that it is monocultural country that is not true it is multi-ethnic and multilingual Japan has a variety of people in terms of culture and ethnicity more than what the majority of people in the country have been taught or have taught we have the indigenous peoples of Aino in Hokkaido for instance we have the Okinawan the old-timers or the so-called Zainichi people from Korea and China and during the last few decades Japan has received so many newcomers mainly from neighboring Asian and Latin American countries I grew up in Osaka Western Japan where a huge community of ethnic Koreans and descendants live now reaching the fourth generation when I was a child I had a difficulty speaking about myself to others especially about my Filipino nose I was a shiger so I didn't want to stand up or be given special attention so sharing my Japanese similarity with other children became a coping skill I wanted to get along with my peers still it was hard for me to admit the fact that my mother is from a foreign land because her looks and ways of speaking were completely different from other Japanese mothers but whether I like it or not my family is unlike other typical Japanese families at the same time also Japan is my home base and my first time is Japanese language I couldn't be 100% sure about really being a Japanese I have a Japanese citizenship I still feel some kind of strangeness in my daily life in Japan remarks or jokes about foreigners are very common and many of these are insulting I've heard stories about the challenges that my mother has been facing as a Filipina in Japan I came to realize that the stereotype images of the Philippines will be that of street children and scavengers in garbage shelters also there is an image of the Filipina in Japan as an entertainer those images that I've heard and seen are often negative or prejudice which gave me a lot of pain because the Philippines was never a foreign land for me as I had many happy experiences when I visited our relatives and friends so beautiful beaches and met warm people plus there was always a conflict within myself of being half Japanese and half Filipino given the stereotype image of the Filipinos and the Philippines in Japan it was quite difficult to have a positive appreciation of my background so what makes my situation more complicated is that I spent a few years in the United States where I was educated in a multicultural context learning different cultures and values was interesting in a way but sometimes I had to face the dark side of the history of the Philippines which was for stigma and discrimination I tried my best to be adaptive to different cultures as we become more open to diversity I was given many opportunities but still I had a hard time and I became more introverted my growing up period was spent with the feeling that I was caught in between cultures and societies and I was completely lost in the middle of finding the way to home so I decided to go back alone first to Japan and to the Philippines during my high school years it was the first time that I was exposed to two cultures without my family and I became more comfortable going back and forth between two cultures appreciating similarities, difficulties, differences, a negative and positive side of these two cultures that's when I finally realized the importance of trust and love for people around me family, friends, teachers, classmates and people I met at each life stage were the best of what I got in life they fulfilled my life by sharing happiness and sadness at times this idea is more trans-cultural about who you are and where you're from as I discovered myself during my university years I realized that locating home is not so much a big deal anymore instead of searching where is my home and who am I I started to do something for others I tried to think about what makes them happy and how I could help them that kind of realization gave a purpose for myself and gave me comfort in everyday life thus working for others became a purpose in life and my interest was shifted to how do you make use of my multicultural background and experiences I majored in international studies in university to study about history, politics and sociology of Asian countries I visited several places around Asia, Africa and Europe where I immersed myself in the more diverse ways of living beliefs and varieties of communication I have been involved in volunteer work in Japan and the Philippines for multicultural use we plan and coordinate family oriented programs while interacting and learning about each other and our cultures I enjoy working with them sharing experiences and ideas which eventually build a sense of fellowship with deep empathy and trust with each other a lot of migrant families and children that I've met need support many have complicated personal lives coming from broken families having a single parent and or face problems financially and socially just like other migrants, migrants in Japan are vulnerable in many ways they are migrants in the first place so they lack a support system and acceptance in the communities where they live and within the majority society many parents are working under severe conditions and raising children at the same time in a foreign land children of migrants have different issues, miscommunication with parents, conflict with peers, misconduct, bullying and discrimination in schools some suffer from psychological and mental issues I went to graduate school to specialize in clinical psychology and counseling and I worked with migrants, their families and especially their children whenever I meet clients or stakeholders I try my best to listen to their stories each of them has a unique life history that are challenging and oftentimes overwhelming but I carefully look into their stories and try to catch the light of hope I learn a lot from the difficulties and strengths they have I make use of my experiences and emotions as a minority to understand their hardships my dream is to encourage and empower young people with a multicultural background in Japan who face difficulties about themselves and their situations it's my duty and responsibility to let their unhoved voices be heard in a country where migration is seen as a problem I think many of you who are here were children of migrants and you are parents of multicultural children despite the complicated history that forms our migrant experiences each one of us is here now this is the most essential thing to remember when one feels lost or left in the middle of nowhere no one should deny our presence and backgrounds our multicultural backgrounds could be used in positive ways to understand and overcome many obstacles to create a peaceful world thank you for listening to our voices