I am a Japayuki, literally.

Just a month ago, I had to go to Itabashi-ku's local government office to get a certificate of residency. It was my first time to go around that area, so I strolled a little bit and enjoyed the local scenery.

And what really caught my attention is this huge Philippine flag. I got so thrilled and rushed closer to this building. Then to my surprise...

I really thought it was a Filipino restaurant, but it's actually a pub. I've heard about Philippine pubs in Japan long before I decided to become an English teacher here.

More than three decades ago, some Filipino women were sent to Japan to work as "Japayuki". Well literally, this word is a combination of two words "Japa = Japan" and "Yuki = to go" so it means "to go to Japan".

However, for Filipinos it would mean "to work as an entertainer in Japan". Suffice to say, we had negative and sensational connotations to that word. So, whenever somebody would go to Japan to work, we'll associate it with a Japayuki kind of job.

It was also a human rights issue since some Japayukis worked illegally and are paid low by their supposed agencies. Some were even forced to do extra and explicit services.

But nowadays, the situation has been slowly changing. More and more Filipinos come here to work as engineers, teachers, IT professionals, nurses, etc. Although there are still some who work in pubs, well we can't judge them. We don't know their stories.

What I'm just really thankful for is the fact that Japan gave us the opportunity to work here and prove that we Filipinos can be at par with global talents. 😌

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