Prince Naruhith hopes for immigrant-friendly society
Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito said Wednesday it was important for
Japanese and foreigners to live with mutual respect as the nation
gradually takes in more outsiders.
The prince spoke ahead of a visit to Brazil to mark 100 years since
the first settlement there by Japanese. Tables have now turned with more
than 300,000 Brazilians of Japanese descent living in the Asian economic
power.
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Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito, his daughter Princess Aiko
and his wife Crown Princess Masako, from left, pose for
photographers as the crown prince say good by to his family
at the Togu Palace in Tokyo Monday, June 16 The crown prince
left for Brazil marking the 100th anniversary of Japanese
emigration to the South American country. -AP Photo |
"I think it is important to create an environment in which foreigners
living in Japan and Japanese live together by paying respect to one
another," Naruhito told a news conference.
Naruhito said that foreign residents trying to adapt to Japan may be
"struggling due to differences in culture and language." "I heard that
not a small number of children are unable to catch up with class in
school or to get education," he said.
The number of foreign residents in Japan rose to an all-time high as
of last year as the nation seeks more workers to help cope with a
rapidly ageing population. The 48-year-old heir to the Chrysanthemum
Throne will make the 12-day trip alone although the Brazilian government
invited his wife Crown Princess Masako to come along with him.
Masako, 44, has been suffering from stress for years as she adjusts
to life as part of the world's oldest monarchy.
She is not going as the trip is long and includes numerous events.
"I would like to seek people's understanding although we feel sorry
for Brazilian and Japanese-Brazilian people who wanted both of us to
come," Naruhito said.
The prince did not give a clear-cut answer when asked what foreign
trips Masako would be able to make. The princess, a former diplomat
educated at Harvard and Oxford, may be able to go abroad if it would
"help her recover," he said.
Nearly 800 Japanese set sail on the "Kasato Maru" ship from Kobe in
search of better lives and arrived at Brazil's Santos Port in June 1908
only to find a gruelling life working on farmland.Brazil is now home to
more than 1.2 million people of Japanese descent, or "Nikkeis," making
it the foreign country with the largest community of Japanese-origin
people.
-AFP |
