Human Rights
Public health workers and COVID-19: Overworked and struggling to meet the demands
Labour Union fights for change for Japanese Public Health Care Workers
Sachie Akasugi (not her real name) is beyond exhausted. A worker at a public...
Human Rights
Refugees in Japan help give rural communities competitive edge
When C.I. Desert landed at the Narita International Airport in 2018, he stepped into a new life. Young, educated, and multilingual, he fled home, family and a teaching career in Cameroon, which was rife with civil unrest. The reason for choosing Japan, he says, was simple: “In 2018, if you typed ‘10 safest countries in the world,’ you saw Japan.”
Human Rights
Safe at Last: A Tunisian woman’s journey to freedom
It was on a basketball court that Nahed* finally knew she was safe.
“A few days after coming to Japan, I wanted to play basketball,”...
Human Rights
Boys for rent
Vulnerable young gay men lured into "legal" Tokyo sex industry
At a glance, First Dash is just a regular Tokyo bar. Customers laugh and drink,...
Human Rights
Aid worker Nahoko Takato continues her life work breaking cycles of violence
There is little that Nahoko Takato has not seen or experienced. Seeking a change from her work operating a karaoke bar in her hometown...
Human Rights
Japan’s women continue to suffer at hands of domestic violence
National campaign seeks to end violence against women
There’s an almost dispassionate matter-of-factness in the way Risa Tanaka describes how she was tortured by her...
Human Rights
On Being a Vietnamese Lifeline in Japan
Born in Vietnam, Takayama Yuki overcame her own struggles as a refugee in Japan and now spends her life helping others.
In a still largely...