By Miho Eguchi, Iwami Chisuikan High School
Recently, the Japanese government is moving toward accepting more foreign workers. According to newspaper reports, the working population of Japan is shrinking. That is why foreign workers are needed. What worries me is that this way of thinking lacks the perspective of foreign workers’ happiness. Does the Japanese government care about the welfare of the new working population?
I understand how hard it is to live in a foreign country. Two years ago, I lived in the United States with my family for about a year. Before moving there, I thought I would get used to the new life in America soon because my English was the best in my junior high school. However, I was wrong.
My new life in the United States was painful. I felt lonely among my new classmates because I could not share my interests with my peers. I missed my old Japanese life, and I wished I could go back to Japan. It made me so depressed when I saw pictures of my old friends on their school trip and at school festivals. I felt so isolated from my peers both in the United States and Japan.
What cured my homesickness was meeting people who cared about the hardship of Japanese residents in the United States. Once a month, I joined a social gathering where Japanese and American people shared time together. It was called “Japanese Table Talk.” At Japanese Table Talk, Japanese people temporarily living in the U.S. ate dinner with local Americans. Japanese housewives brought delicious foods from our home country. I felt I was in Japan at those gatherings. What surprised me most was that Japanese Table Talk was organized by a group of American volunteers in the community, not the Japanese members.
Thanks to the warm support I received from my host country, my homesickness was eased. If someone new needs help, I would like to help him or her because I understand the culture shock.
I am worried if Japanese society is ready to welcome people from overseas. In my opinion, we should welcome non-Japanese people as important members of a community, not just “workers.” I believe that Japanese residents should be more sympathetic to people who go through a hard time in Japan. If Japanese care about new neighbors, they will be adjusted to their new life in Japan, and they will be happier.
