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The newly established Filipino-Japanese Descendants Association would like to gather Filipinos with Japanese ancestry, create a space for them to take pride in their heritage, and to assist them in receiving their long overdue recognition from the Japanese government.
Before the Second World War, children born in the Philippines to a Japanese immigrant father and a Filipina mother were guaranteed Japanese citizenship due to nationality laws at the time. However, after the Japanese occupation these children were separated from their fathers and were eventually forced to hide their Japanese ancestry after the war, making it difficult to reclaim their Japanese identity. Today, these half Japanese children – now in their elderly years – and their descendants have long since been demanding that the Japanese government restore their citizenship, many of them remaining stateless.
In 2025, this humanitarian issue remains unresolved as we celebrate 80 years since the end of the Second World War. With the help of the Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center (offices in Manila and Tokyo), these children have a chance to reclaim their identity. The FJDA in Canada would like to help our kababayan receive their recognition and encourage them to join us as we take pride in our Filipino-Japanese heritage.
Jun Cura-Bongolan
President
Phone #: 647 993 5069
Email : juncurabongolan@gmail.com
Filipino-Japanese Descendants Association
(Re)connecting to our roots as Philippine Nikkeijin
