Greetings from President
Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian People (FWEAP) was
established in December 1969 by its founders, who were disheartened by the devastation of the
Vietnam War. Later, the Refugee Assistance Headquarters (RHQ) was established within the FWEAP to
carry out projects entrusted by the Japanese government to promote the acceptance and settlement of
Indo-Chinese refugees (referring collectively
to refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) in Japan that had come to existence after the end of
the Vietnam War (April 1975). Although the acceptance of Indo-Chinese refugees was terminated at the
end of March 2006, the Japanese government began to accept Convention refugees in 1982, third-country resettlement refugees in 2010,
and persons subject to complementary protection in 2024. Meanwhile, the RHQ has been implementing
Resettlement Assistance Programs (including Japanese language education and daily life orientation
in Japan) as an organization entrusted by the government to provide initial assistance to these
refugees. This is in addition to offering advice on a range of issues encountered when living in
Japan. At the same time, FWEAP has also been carrying out its own independent activities, such as holding the ‘Tsudoi’ Festival for Settled Refugees in Japan. The purpose of this festival is to provide commendations to more than 12,000 settled refugees in Japan for their success, and present certificates of gratitude to companies that provide settled refugees with employment opportunities as well as to groups and individuals who support them. FWEAP also invites officials engaging in social welfare activities from Asian countries to Japan to deepen mutual understanding in the field of welfare.
Furthermore, FWEAP has also launched new projects with the goal of promoting further social inclusion
of settled refugees who have been living in Japan for generations by working in cooperation with
refugee communities from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, Japanese organizations supporting
them, and other involved parties.
Through these new projects, FWEAP offers financial assistance
to activities that aim to help refugee communities solve problems in the areas of social welfare,
education, and the like, and participate more in Japanese society. It also supports the activities
of a non-profit refugee support organization to provide supplementary classes to children of those
third-country resettlement refugees.
Furthermore, because it has passed more than 40 years since Japan began to accept refugees, FWEAP initiated several activities that fulfill the objective of offering opportunities for settled refugees to share problems they face while living in Japanese society and propose solutions to them. These include the Discussion Forum for Refugees in Japan and the Presentation Contest by settled refugees, with the participation of Japanese government officials, municipalities in which settled refugees are living, non-governmental refugee support organizations, and international organizations. In the future, FWEAP will continue to do its utmost to stand by settled refugees and their related parties in need to help them lead fulfilling lives as members of local communities in their respective places of residence.
Public Interest Incorporated Foundation
Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian
People
President Masahiro FUJIWARA
