Japanese-Brazilian Woman Told “Go Back to Your Country” by Welfare Office

A Japanese-Brazilian woman who has been a permanent resident of Japan for 10 years was denied public assistance recently and told she should consider going back to her country. The woman is now speaking out about her experience to prevent it from happening to others.

The story was broken by Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun. The woman, 41, lives in Anjo in Aichi Prefecture. Her husband, who worked in an automotive plant, lost his job due to the pandemic-related economic downturn. Things took an even worse turn when her husband was arrested recently for driving without a license.

The woman, who has two sons, told Mainichi in tears about how she watered down milk that friends gave her to the point that it was “like water.”

Friends assured the woman she’d qualify for public assistance. But when she visited the city welfare office, a city worker refused her petition. The city worker told her (incorrectly) that she wasn’t eligible for public assistance because she isn’t a Japanese citizen. The woman further told her that “it’d be better if you returned to your country” and also implied that she’d lose her spousal visa due to her husband’s arrest.

The woman eventually obtained the assistance she was seeking. She also received an apology from the city for the worker’s discriminatory behavior.

“It was frightening going to city hall and feeling emotionally cornered,” she told Mainichi. “I wish foreigners would be seen as people.”

It’s a common refrain from Japan’s right-wing that foreigners are bleeding Japan dry through public assistance. In reality, few foreigners in Japan receive public assistance of any kind. Permanent residents were not even eligible to receive assistance until a 2018 change in the law passed under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Currently, most approved assistance goes to Zainichi Koreans and others who have suffered systemic discrimination in the past. For example, Zainichi Koreans were long forbidden from participating in the country’s pension system.

Sources

「国に帰ればいい」　日系ブラジル人の生活保護拒否、誤情報伝える. Mainichi Shimbun