Chisato ShizumeAlthough the current situation related to refugees in Japan indicates poor support, the current status is not so hopeless. Some businesses are starting to support refugees in Japan.
People Port Corp. is a Japanese company that engages in resolving refugees’ employment issues and settling in Japan. The company proactively employs refugees and supports their life in Japan. The company’s representative, Aoyama Akihiro, founded this company to help refugees in Japan.
As he searched for a way to create jobs for refugees, he came up with computer repairing, which seemed to be the optimum industry for several reasons. First, workers can attain computer repair skills and use them when they return to their home country. Second, learning the technique doesn’t necessarily require Japanese language skills; they only require English and math. The last, and probably the best reason, is that their work contributes to solving environmental issues in Japan, which improves the negative image the society has on refugees.
In Japan, some three million computers are discarded each year, negatively impacting the environment. People Port upcycles these computers to make sustainable and eco-friendly computers, called ZERO PC. Furthermore, the company uses only natural energy during the manufacturing process, recycles every changed part and unrenewable computers. And because computers are delicate, most computers use plastic packaging. However, ZERO PC is packed in special cardboard that doesn’t need cushioning materials.
People Port takes an approach to attract consumers in Japan by creating sustainable computers, which at the same time creates jobs for refugees and improves people’s understanding of them. The company also takes various measures to provide a good work environment to reduce its workers’ stress and anxiety in a foreign country. If Japan is seeking for a sustainable and effective support for refugees, People Port’s ideal and unique approach should serve as a model. As the number of refugees increases, workplaces and society can develop gradually to accept them naturally.
Those who were forcibly displaced had no choice but to leave their homes, work, school and other vital parts of their lives. Some were even separated from their family without any promise of reunion. Providing these people essential support to live in Japan could allow them to live a fulfilling life, which helps the refugees and helps diversify and mature Japanese society. If more organizations and companies in Japan could offer support and employment like People Port, Japan could join the world to solve the problem. And such an open-minded society is sure to attract many people home and abroad, developing the society as a whole.
[Reference] IDEAS FOR GOOD
