Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report Fukuoka Prefecture--Sophia Fukushima thought she was “rather bad” at writing essays but last summer she decided to put into words something that has bothered her for most of her young life won the Justice Ministry’s Human Rights Bureau award at a national junior high school essay contest for fiscal 2024 The award ceremony was held at the Yukuhashi city hall on March 14 “Hafu” (or “half” in English) is a Japanese term used to refer to a person who is half-Japanese now a third-year student at Yukuhashi city’s municipal Izumi Junior High School in Fukuoka Prefecture has a Japanese father and a Filipino mother She was raised in the Philippines until she was 1 year old Sophia said she somehow knew as far back as she can remember that “my roots are a little different from others.” She has felt people staring at her because of her background and constantly being told she thought she wanted to send a message to others: “Please don’t assume anything.” her friends said to her on numerous occasions Sophia wrote about such experiences: “It was a bit of a troubling question for me I felt a little uncomfortable that people thought I could speak English simply because I am hafu.” She said she does not mind the term hafu for herself and that she knew her friends meant no offense by it every time she was asked about her English ability There were even times when she pretended to be able to speak the language A senior student whose mother was from the Philippines attended the same junior high school The boy had lived in the Philippines for a long time and was fluent in English “Why is it that (the boy) is so good at English and you are not?” “I was very hurt because I was compared and judged on whether or not I could speak English based on my looks and roots.” Sophia says each and every person is raised and lives in a different environment and background who came to Japan for work before Sophia was born is accustomed to life here and speaks Japanese smoothly She learned that her mother had a hard time finding a job in Japan and was rejected several times because she was Filipino being told that “customers might be surprised.” Her mother also said she was treated differently from Japanese employees at work She did not seem to want to recall these experiences “I don’t want to be discriminated against.” her mother persevered and now works in the field of elderly care Sophia said she wants to be like her mother “My mother is a very encouraging figure for me As she wrote the essay with a mechanical pencil on a piece of manuscript paper the girl pondered the differences among individuals and cultures She wondered if people are able to respect and accept such diversity Although she may be told again that she is this or that because she is hafu she hopes that she and others will take action when they see or hear discriminatory words or behavior “I want to have the courage to speak up and explain myself so that people will understand me.” Her prize-winning essay became a topic of conversation among her friends Sophia said she feels a little shy about the human rights award but she also wants her friends to know about her feelings that she wrote in the essay for the first time Osaka working to help students maintain their cultural roots Girl’s anti-bullying message lives on 20 years after tragic death Teenage friend of leprosy patients wins prize for life mission essay Okinawan with American father finally finds her own identity Karen Tei Yamashita to receive honorary National Book Award Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu. The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version Japanese version The ComicFesta Anime brand announced on Wednesday that its newest television anime is based on the JimiHen—!! ~Jimiko o Kaechaū Jun Isei Kōyū~ (Pure Heterosexual Intercourse That Transforms a Plain Girl) manga by Iburō. The anime will premiere on Tokyo MX on January 3 The story follows the relationship between two co-workers office worker Rena Yukuhashi and businessman Ryōhei Hachiya Yukuhashi seems like the plainest woman at her company but she transforms into a stunning beauty when she dresses up outside the office Flustered upon seeing Yukuhashi transformed Hachiya inadvertently utters what sounds like an invitation to get to know each other better — without realizing they are standing in front of a love hotel this new anime does not list different cast members for the "on-air" and "premium" editions.) The "premium edition" of the anime with adult scenes will stream on the ComicFesta Anime website on January 3 at 24:00 (effectively The "on-air edition" of the anime will premiere on the Tokyo MX channel on January 3 at 25:00 (January 4 at 1:00 a.m.) A special about the new program will air on December 27 at 25:00 (December 28 at 1:00 a.m.) on Tokyo MX Katsura first serialized the manga digitally under the title Jimiko wa Igai ni Ero Katta (The Plain Girl Was Unxpectedly Erotic), and Suiseisha has also been publishing the manga under the title JimiHen—! Sources: JimiHen—!! ~Jimiko o Kaechaū Jun Isei Kōyū~ anime's website, Comic Natalie Japanese version Japanese version Japanese version Japanese version