Hi! I’m sharing this because, though I was not able to attend the presentation, I just read a Kumanichi article (July 17) about this and wanted to share a couple of points that Mr. Nakashima did not mention in his English summary.
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Of the 30 foreign-born single mothers interviewed, all had acquired either Japanese citizenship or permanent-resident status before the earthquake. Also, all but one had already lived in Kumamoto for 5 years or more. I think it’s important to emphasize that these people are not here temporarily or illegally.
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None of the women had “regular employee” (正社員) status. The Japanese term (“sei shain”) is sometimes translated as “full-time employee” but it’s much more than a matter of time. If you are not a “regular” employee of an organization, your pay is lower, you have much fewer benefits to rely on and you have little job security so you are thus much more likely to be hit hard by an economic downturn, as was caused by the earthquake. Natural disasters (like human-caused environmental disasters) tend to affect the lives of the economically less secure more severely.
I think the earthquake amplified economic disparities and injustices that existed before it hit. In this sense, learning about what has happened to these women is important to understanding social problems that need to be addressed regardless of whether or not a natural disaster will strike.
As Mr. Nakashima indicated, a Japanese pamphlet (55 pages) has been published about the interview. I take it from his post that there are plans to translate it into English.
– Kirk
