The Filipino migrant workers in Japan constitute the third biggest group of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) contributing to the Philippine economy. Hand in hand with the increase in the number of Japan-based workers is the increase in the total OFW remittances. From  $157,839 in January to April 2002, remittances increased by almost 25 percent in the same period in 2003.

 In 2002, 94 percent or 73,246 of the total 77,870 OFWs employed in Japan were overseas performing artists (OPA).  Of this figure, 96 percent were women, more properly called “Japayuki”, making this group vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in their work places.  In the same year, 1,051 female immigrants filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). The complaints included maltreatment, sexual harassment, imprisonment, health and medical problems, immigration- and document-related problems, delayed and nonpayment of salaries, contract violation or substitution, and poor working conditions and death. Unfortunately, government records show that a number of OPAs in Japan have remained unprotected.  These performing artists who were contracted to work as singers and dancers in performance venues often returned home traumatized. 

 The implementation of the New Immigration Control and Refugee Act on February 18, 2000 became the major concern for OPAs. This act states that foreigners caught overstaying in Japan will be deported and penalized.  While it is expected that Filipino women-entertainers would pack their bags and go home before its implementation, these women took the risk of being caught and penalized, which inevitably goes with gainful employment. Others opted to plunge into marriage for convenience with Japanese men to guarantee their stay in Japan. For the period 1989-2001, Japan had the second largest number of nationals with registered Filipino fiancées or spouses. Most often, such relationships ended up with broken families and abandoned Japanese-Filipino children (JFC).

DAWN

There exist several government and nongovernment organizations (NGO) that implement programs for the protection and reintegration of distressed immigrant workers.  

Among the NGOs devoted to assisting Filipino women immigrants in Japan and their Japanese-Filipino children in the promotion and protection of their rights and welfare is the Development Action for Women Network (DAWN). DAWN was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 6, 1996 with four programs and services geared toward the immediate integration of returning distressed migrant women with their families and the larger Philippine society. These programs ¾ social services; alternative livelihood; research, education, and advocacy; and network and linkage building ¾ involve provision of training and source of income, maintenance of SINAG, a quarterly newsletter, a website: www.dawnphil.org, linkage with fellow NGOs and government agencies, lobbying for amendment and proper implementation of laws, and establishment of a DAWN Shelter for Women and Children (SHELTER) and of Teatro Akebono. An annual activity, Teatro Akebono provides the children of former Filipina entertainers in Japan an outlet to express themselves through plays that reflect their own experiences. The theater tours in Japan enable abandoned JFCs to be reunited with their Japanese fathers and paternal relatives.