お知らせNews
【English】Message for International Migrants Day 2025 "Your rights and your place are already here."
・Simple Japanese 【やさしい日本語】
Your rights and your place are already here.
December 18 is International Migrants Day.
Around the world, many people move from the country where they were born to another in order to work, be with family, or seek safety. These people are called “migrants.”
International Migrants Day is a day to think about what we can do to protect migrants and to build a society where everyone can live together.
Some of you reading this message may feel worried because you often hear the word “foreigners (Gaikokujin in Japanese)” in the news recently.
No matter where in the world a person is, and no matter what their roots are, being able to live and work safely should be taken for granted.
No one should ever be made to feel bad or scared just because they are “a foreigner,” “don’t understand Japanese,” or “don’t know the rules in Japan.”
Your rights and your place are already here.
That does not change, no matter what happens.
Even if our languages, cultures, or countries are different, we are all human beings.
Let’s build a society together that values our differences.
In Commemoration of International Migrants Day…
December 18 is “International Migrants Day,” a day established by the United Nations to commemorate the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (“Migrant Workers’ Rights Convention”). It is a day to recognize and appreciate the contributions that migrants have made around the world.
[Reference] UN Website (English): https://www.un.org/en/observances/migrants-day
In Japan, many migrants, refugees, and people with migrant backgrounds already live here. However, even 20 years after the Convention came into force, Japan has still not ratified it.
Moreover, the Japanese government continues to maintain a stance of “not accepting migrants.” In the 2024 House of Councillors election, xenophobic rhetoric was fueled, and a political party promoting a “Japan First” agenda gained momentum. Under the new administration, foreign resident policies have been designated a priority area, and control- and surveillance-oriented policies are rapidly advancing.
Do these trends and policies truly honor the long history of migrants, acknowledge their contributions, and recognize that migrants, refugees, and people with migrant roots are already part of Japanese society?
In this growing atmosphere of xenophobia, many people may feel anxious.
However, the rights and place of those who already live here must not—and should not—be shaken by xenophobia, discrimination, or prejudice.
What is needed now is not “control” or “exclusion,” but a society where every person is respected as a human being and can live safely, free from discrimination.
With this belief in mind, we have issued a message to all migrants and people with migrant roots living in Japan.
On International Migrants Day, why not take this opportunity to reflect once again—together—on what kind of society we want to build from here?
Please note:
In past years, our organization (Solidarity Network with Migrants Japan, Ijuren) has held events to mark International Migrants Day. However, for this year, we will commemorate the day solely through this message (there will be no events, including online ones this year).