Japan's Filipino community puts down roots, moves past hostess origins

Filipinos have had hard times in japan.. Let them relax a bit.

Let's remind our readers that Filipinos are not the only ones employed in the hostess industry. Japanese women have been doing it since before the Edo period.

There are two sides to this coin. There would be no Hostess industry if there was no demand for it. And where does that demand come from? Japanese men.

Among the recent post-war immigrant groups in Japan, Filipinos have been accultured relatively well. Although the stereotype image of "hostess" still persists, their community has been extended into different parts of Japanese society. Their kids and grandkids grow and speak Japanese. Most notably, there are a rising number of celebrities of "half" Filipino heritage in Japanese mainstream media.

But in 2005, the government tightened rules on the issuance of entertainer visas following a report published by the U.S. State Department, which identified abuse of these visas as facilitating human trafficking.

So, Japan did have a blind eye on that.

As for many stuffs, Japan did act under foreign pressure

In the U.S., by the 2nd or 3rd generation, many Asians start expanding into other professions that bring more status and money. Hence, you see a lot of doctors of Indian or East Asian descent in the U.S.

I predict that by the 2nd generation in Japan, many of the Filipinos, Chinese, South Koreans, and Vietnamese will do the same. We'll start seeing more of them as doctors, or at the minimum, computer engineers... or maybe not.

When they were in the Philippines, they could speak English extremely well. When they came to Japan, they gained fluency in Japanese. In Japan there is a growing demand for bilingual staff in many areas, which the Japanese education system seems unable to fullfil. Many Filipinos seem to work on helplines where English is necessary.

I predict that by the 2nd generation in Japan, many of the Filipinos, Chinese, South Koreans, and Vietnamese will do the same. We'll start seeing more of them as doctors, or at the minimum, computer engineers... or maybe not.

As much as we may dislike Japan's closed society, it's there by design to prevent this from happening, i.e. to stop foreign peoples staging a soft coup in their country through immigration, like what we're seeing in the US, Western Europe, etc.

I predict that by the 2nd generation in Japan, many of the Filipinos, Chinese, South Koreans, and Vietnamese will do the same. We'll start seeing more of them as doctors, or at the minimum, computer engineers... or maybe not.

Maybe, maybe not. In the US and UK, yes. In Japan, it's not because they want to be part of society and become skilled workers.

“Penalties are deducted from the woman's earnings if they miss their daily sales target, and they must ask permission from their broker whenever they wish to go out.

But Nakashima says the women are generally ready to put up with the harsh conditions in the hope of a better life beyond.”

Although some might be compliant in this it still sounds like servitude.

Because Japanese single women are now doing Philippines jobs instead.

Philippine natives should not be teaching English unless college educated and certified. Nobody should.

After four decades or so of coming to Japan to work as entertaining people in snacks, I think they should be now well into the third generation and possibly prospering.

Language reading ability is the tough nut to crack.

Filipinos are great people, hardworking and friendly and most of them have adapted to living in Japan quite well unlike immigrants from western nations who normally don't learn the local lingo or culture and keep complaining about thing not being like back home.

El Rata.... maybe that is because the Filipinos have moved to a better place? Many “westerners” maybe no so?

Many “westerners” maybe no so?

So, why moving here if they are going to suffer? Why not staying home where things are supposedly better? Why not being grateful to be here like most Filipinos are?

many now working as caregivers or assistant English language teachers, or opting for part-time jobs in hotels, supermarkets, and factories.

Only met Philippine women here. All worked in English kindergartens or babysitting, AND hostess or snack at night. Don’t know how much sleep they get. Only know one man who works in a bar.

when I was in the Philippines I met several young women/girls, encouraged by their families to study Japanese and viewed as cash cows.

I learned English from my mother (no college degree, at that time) and was given not only her accent but her love of books.

El RataToday 01:14 pm JST

unlike immigrants from western nations who normally don't learn the local lingo or culture

Well, that's not the case for people around me.

According to data released by the Justice Ministry as of June 2020, 132,551, or roughly 47 percent, of the 282,023 Filipinos legally residing in Japan held permanent resident visas

As a Filipino, I didn't know there were that many Filipino PR-holders in Japan, lucky them. I wish I could find someone to marry too lol. Kidding aside, ain't that the reality of an immigrating ethnic group generally where they start and thrive in an industry and begin to branch out in the next generations. One of the good things about being a Filipino in Japan is depending on your appearance, You can easily pass off as Japanese and save yourself from being discriminated upon.

P. SmithJan. 25  07:27 am JST

Let’s not forget that Filipinos were forcibly brought to Japan during WWII, which makes the very first paragraph of this article inaccurate.

Total nonsense as usual. Firstly Filipinos are men and none were brought to Japan during WWII. Secondly Filipinas served in Comfort Stations in the Philipines, not in Japan.