Indepth Articles
[Dec. 08, 2008]
International marriages are increasing in Japan. But, love's course does not always run smooth or true, especially due to the complications of language, cultural values and different social perceptions. When such marriages are on the brink of collapse or divorce proceedings have been taken, counselling is often needed to sort out the difficulties, especially in the case of the children of such marriages.
This is where International Social Service Japan (ISSJ) becomes an indispensable pillar of support and a key counselling source for foreign residents in Japan who are married to Japanese nationals. ISSJ provides assistance in such areas as explaining Japanese legal codes, marriage and divorce procedures, parental authority over children, visitation rights, expenses in raising children, difficulties in receiving compensation for damages, and the search for missing family members. The Nippon Foundation supports these ISSJ activities.
Kuniko Omori, Director General of ISSJ, leads a team of social workers, counsellors, psychologists, and specialists in Japanese law who devote themselves to finding solutions to the complex mixture of difficulties that often arise from failing or failed international marriages. Omori is a social worker by training and has also worked in Cambodia to care for street children at a day care center run by ISSJ.
"In ten years of working there in the center of what people called 'robbers town' we were the only organization that never had a break-in." When she asked someone in the neighborhood why her offices were never targeted by robbers, she was told: "Because, you have heart and you take good care of the street children."
Omori and her staff bring the same caring attitute and attention to children of failed international couples in Japan. For example, in recent years, the number of children who have no birth certificates or nationality and are born of unmarried women who have overstayed their visas in Japan has been increasing. ISSJ assists with their birth registration and repatriation to their mother's country of origin so that they can gain citizenship.
Or, in the case that the child received Japanese citizenship and only speak Japanese but were taken to the mother's home country, resulting in social and economic hardship to the child, ISSJ has arranged for these children to be brought back to Japan.
International adoption is another of ISSJ's important activities. Some children not only find themselves stateless in Japan, but both parents abandon their roles as caregivers and "disappear," leaving their children to be cared for by the state. Often, ISSJ provides assistance regarding legal procedures for these children to be adopted, sometimes by parents whose nationalities are different from the child. ISSJ then follows up to check on the psychological and emotional well-being of the adopted child.
Every year ISSJ also invites social workers from developing countries, particularly in Asia, to take part in special trainings in Japan. This training includes an understanding of child welfare in Japan and how this can be applied internationally. At the ISSJ Cambodia center, educational trainings are also offered on nutrition, sanitation and literacy.
Additionally, ISSJ is contracted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to offer services for asylum seekers and refugees in Japan. ISSJ provides support for these displaced people to find employment, housing, access to medical care, Japanese language education, and psycholgical counselling when needed. These activities all promote social integration for refugees, and tangentally, these programs also support the multi-racial children living in such places as Kure in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Twice a year ISSJ holds a charity movie festival and bazaar to raise money for its services. Also, three times a year ISSJ publishes a newsletter detailing its activities and outlining trends in child welfare. The publications include results of research about international adoption, refugees, and international marriage. This is translated into foreign languages as a source for other organizations involved in international social service problems. ISSJ is a member of International Social Service, a world-wide organization with headquarters in Geneva.