Hiroki Murakami

4th year, Anthropology-Sociology Major, Faculty of Liberal Arts
‘Message/Future Plans‘

Hiroki is a 4th generation Japanese American born and raised in Japan. He studied at an international school in Chofu, Tokyo from kindergarten until he graduated from high school and grew up in a bicultural environment while being immersed in both Japanese and English from a very early age. As he interacted with many people, he started to develop a strong interest in the international community. So, Hiroki decided to join the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Sophia University, and major in Sociology/Anthropology to learn about the globalizing society and the people who strive to live in society. Through his studies, he learned that the reality of Japanese society is different from what he sees with his own eyes and that there are many people who are struggling to survive. Not only Japanese people but also foreigners. By joining this project, Hiroki thought that he could support refugees in some way, using the skills and knowledge that he obtained through his studies.

Khant was born and raised in Myanmar. He has a passion for studying foreign languages and enjoys staying productive by speaking to people in different languages in different settings. The cultural and linguistic knowledge he has acquired from studying languages causes him to feel confused about his personality as well as identity sometimes. On the other hand, constant exposure to many cultures has enabled him to build a common ground for better communication with people of different cultural backgrounds and contribute to the diversity of society. Refugee issues tend to be distant from ordinary people’s lives, but learning about Gabriel and writing his story is a great chance for Khant not only to gain knowledge about one of the unfortunate social groups but to raise his awareness of such social issues which are often overlooked by many people.

Kyi Min Khant

3rd Year, Anthropology-Sociology Major, Faculty of Liberal Arts
‘Detention Center,’ Music/Audio Editor

Misshel Keyani

4th year, Anthropology-Sociology Major, Faculty of Liberal Arts
‘Life Before Japan,’ ‘The Help I Can Give Others,’ ‘The Dark Truth‘, Video Editor

Misshel is half Pakistani and half Japanese. She was born in Hyogo, Japan, and spent most of her time before university in her hometown. As being exposed to multinational cultures, she has been given opportunities to see things from a different viewpoint and to be aware of the things that people often miss. Throughout her academic years, her curiosity has been on the minority groups in Japan, starting with refugees, Ainu, homeless people, single mothers, and mixed nationality children. Misshel believes that this is because of her understanding of what it is like to be different from others growing up in Japan and not being able to fit in. This project showed her how each and every individual story has a different value where it is not only the refugee issue in Japan but also the portrayal of the social dynamics of Japan in various ways. This also made her realize the lack of opportunities people have in Japan to be in touch with others’ voices on these issues. What people think they understand is simply a superficial statistical presentation of an issue, where a lot of the needs are yet to be heard.

Sabrina is half-American and half-Japanese. She was born in Hawaii, U.S.A., and raised in Okinawa, Japan. Coming from different and remote small islands in two countries, she has been raised to look at things from a different perspective. She has always had the passion to meet and learn about others who come from different countries and cultures. Her hope is that Japan will one day be more multiculturally coexisting. In this project, one of the things that Sabrina learned is that more people need to be heard, especially those who are in the minority. Especially for the case of refugees, many people know that refugees exist in Japan, but the group remains only a matter of statistical numbers. After doing this project with Gabriel, she found that people are in reality different from what the media may portray of them. While she found it challenging to gather 30 years of one man, Sabrina is glad that she and her team did, as it taught her the importance of listening to other peoples’ stories and helping others.

Sabrina Yukiko Ours

4th year, Anthropology-Sociology Major, Faculty of Liberal Arts
‘After Coming to Japan,’ ‘Survival After Detention Center,‘ Illustrator