Bituin Shimada, one of the co-founders of Kakehashi, arrived in Japan about 50 years ago in the 1970s as a young student. Living as a first-generation Filipino migrant, Bituin had to navigate learning a new language and understanding the cultures to make Japan her home. While working as a professional court interpreter, she came to believe that learning the language, understanding the cultures, and having access to the right information is key for migrants to thrive, especially for the youth migrants who struggle to adapt to their new land. This is why she co-founded Kakehashi, a voluntary group that helps children and youth of Filipino and mixed heritage who migrate to Japan, together with her friends and allies who shared the vision.

Kakehashi means “bridging the links” in Japanese. Among many initiatives, they published a multi-lingual handbook “Bridging the Gap” designed to provide a practical guide to help young migrants in Japan with navigating various aspects of life in Japan. This book also illustrates real-life stories of individuals who overcame various challenges adopting in Japan. It is a product of a long collective process of the community supported by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) in Japan, and won the 2021 Migration Advocacy and Media Award in the Philippines, for Best Book on Migration, non-fiction/guide category.

Would you like to know more about the experiences of youth migrants and how they could be guided and supported to thrive as equal members of society? In this episode, Bituin, or Tita Bi, tells us some inspiring life stories of hers that led her to work for young Filipino and mixed-heritage migrants and many youth migrants from other backgrounds, as well as about “Bridging the Gap” and Kakehashi’s work.

You can get a PDF copy of the handbook “Bridging the Gap” by completing this form (available in Tagalog, English and Japanese) https://forms.gle/eX1jBqi6bEQjLs4H6

Short videos of the “Bridging the Gap” are available in
English:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfWmuk4e7tUDDZqjej70zzpgr5KLyip_B

Filipino：
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfWmuk4e7tUBCzW6ZgV_jAx_XSfJ6k_Im

Japanese：
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfWmuk4e7tUD_m4J5fE163vYOHFxykkjb

You can also watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/da5RVEXeq34

Kakehashi - Bridging Cultures, Linking Lives (kakehashi-ph.jp)

This episode is supported by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation