Day 5: Asahi Shimbun, OSU Shopping Street and non-profit organization ICAN

Asahi Shimbun is one of the oldest and most popular circulating newspaper companies in Japan. Its principles are to make the citizens of Japan be heard through their newspaper. The institution believes that the government has the upper hand and big power in disseminating information, and the citizens, only a small power. That is why their newspaper speaks on behalf of the people and asks questions on behalf of the citizens.

With the threat of losing the print media because of the age of digitalization, Asahi Shimbun believes that the print media and the digital media must work hand in hand. They make 580,000 newspapers each day for their subscribers, which are mostly older people and also have an online platform Asahi Shimbun Digital where they post real-time news articles and has interactive videos targeting the younger audience.

Hiroyuki Maegawa, a reporter from Asahi Shimbun, made remarks on how to combat fake news. His advice was to go back to basics, go to multiple sources and get hard facts. Asahi Shimbun stands tall in promoting responsible journalism throughout Japan.

Osu Shopping Center is one of the oldest shopping centers in Japan. It is founded during World War 2. The shopping street is big and has various shops where you can find anything you want – from food to clothes, to traditional Japanese items, you can find it there.

When walking along the Osu Shopping street, there are lots of stores to choose from. There is a store where all of the items cost only 100 Yen! There are also lots of thrift shops and stores that sell second-hand clothes for a cheap price. You can also buy a second-hand Kimono for about 300 Yen only. Aside from the shopping, Osu Shopping street also has annual cosplay events festivals and parades.

The International Children’s Action Network (ICAN), established in Japan is a non-profit organization that helps children in the streets and establish their home, people devastated from natural disasters and war, rebuild schools in needed areas, manages refugee camps and helps poverty-stricken areas in countries Japan, Philippines, Djibouti, Yemen, and Somalia.

They also provide training skills so that people can learn a livelihood. ICAN helps the Philippines in areas, most specifically, the Payatas Area, where the smokey mountain (mountain of garbage from the Philippines) is located. ICAN created the program, Sikap Pangkabuhayan ng mga Nanay sa Payatas, which is a skill set training for the mothers of Payatas, so they will learn a new skill and not be involved in dangerous jobs like collecting garbage in the smokey mountains. They provided training in making handicrafts, and these crafts were sent and sold to Japan.

They also have children protection programs that are central to children living in the streets. ICAN provides a children protection facility for those children and conducts a seminar to empower these children and make them learn how to resolve their problems in their lives.

ICAN shows how strong the Japan-Philippine relation is. Japanese people have a warm heart to help the people in need. Through this kind of platform, we can further promote friendship across countries of Japan and the Philippines.