Where We Call Home

The number of people who've chosen Japan to be their new home reached the highest in history in 2019, exceeding 2.8 million. They bring new color to the country, yet many foreigners struggle to fit in. This program offers a glimpse into their lives and the hardships they face in Japanese society. More than 600 dealers from around Asia and the Middle East gather at a huge used vehicle auction. They are foreign exporters who came to live in Japan, hunting for the best deal and trying to make it big in their adoptive country. A devout Pakistani Muslim, Mian Mohammad Sadiq is one of them. We follow him in his daily struggles as he tries to compromise between his beliefs and the local values. We also look at the life of a young American woman who's studying to become a sake specialist.

"Little India" in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward is a community of about 4,000 Indian nationals first established about 20 years ago. However, they have little connection with Japanese locals and are seen mostly as outsiders. Puranik Yogendra, on whom this episode focuses, is working to change this by actively taking part in neighborhood association projects and teaching his fellow Indians local customs and habits. Also a ward council member, he now aims to set up a Japanese school for Indian children. We also visit a young Nepalese manager of an izakaya, a Japanese-style bar restaurant.

Neighborhood relations, childcare, PTA: in Japan, issues that involve women are plenty and part of everyday routine. But for women from abroad, they can be obstacles to adapting to life in Japan. Nina Hakkarainen, a Kyoto-based Finnish woman, founded an organization offering support to non-Japanese women. As we tag along in her work, we look at the struggles of foreign women to become active members of society. We also visit the kawaii side of Harajuku with a charismatic shop clerk from France.

On this episode, we meet Bhutanese Robin Sharma who works for an agricultural company in Uwa, Ehime Prefecture. Robin has overcome many hardships since he moved to Japan. Now that he's learning advanced farming techniques, he hopes to one day take this know-how back to his homeland. However, he's now facing a new problem. Join us to find out more. We also follow Lkhagva Khanda, a Mongolian native working for a Tokyo architectural firm, as she designs her very first stand-alone house.

This episode takes us to Akita Prefecture, where Polish-born Michal Taberski runs a sausage and ham manufacturing business. To give back to the region's people who helped him achieve success, he mixes local products into his own and collaborates with a high school to foster the new generation that will ensure a future for Akita's declining meat industry. We also visit a horse racetrack in Kochi Prefecture to meet Yerdy Bravo, a groom working hard training horses to support his family back in his native Venezuela.

On this episode, we visit Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture to meet Russian-native Yulia Lev, a pianist who's been active in Japan for 20 years. As an accompanist - a specialization common in Russia yet rare in Japan - she performs with a wide range of musicians and singers, proving there are no borders in music. Her love for her work and city of adoption helps her through life's hardships. We also drop by a Tokyo gallery to watch Italian-born Greta Rossi at work organizing a contemporary art exhibition.

Join us as we visit Naganuma in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido where Australian Karl Diercke runs a pie shop. Among his crusty creations are meat pies, which offer a taste of Karl's homeland but with beef produced locally. We follow him as he consults with the region's farmers to find a way to cope with the shortage in ingredients and decrease in customers winter brings. We also meet Vietnamese Tran Tuan Anh, the manager of a Tokyo produce store with an international staff and clientele.

On July 3rd 2021, massive mudslides caused by heavy rainfall swept through the town of Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture, leaving devastation in their wake. A day before, Chinese-born Xu Haoyu had just moved into a house he'd bought there. Like many others, his home was destroyed. Six months after the disaster, we follow Haoyu in his efforts to get back on his feet. We later meet Xia Dezheng, also from China, who develops ready-to-eat meals for the elderly at a major food product manufacturer in Hiroshima Prefecture.

This episode takes us to Shiga Prefecture, home of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. It's there that a few years ago Italian-born Enrico Cupri began working at a sake brewery. Fueled by his love of sake and his determination to master the brewing craft, he diligently trains under the mentoring of Tomita Yasunobu, the brewery's 15th-generation owner. But the road to sake mastery has its obstacles Enrico must overcome. We also meet American Andrew Gibler, who works at a real estate agency in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Japan finally eased its restrictions on entering the country - good news for the inbound tourism industry. UK-born Paul Christie is one of the business owners getting ready to welcome tourists from abroad. He organizes countryside tours in Oita Prefecture, but the natural landscape has seriously deteriorated over the past three years under the pandemic. We look at Paul's efforts to reinvigorate the region's forests and mountains. We also meet Nepali Adhikari Santosh, a car mechanic in Tokyo.

This time, we venture into the forested mountains of Miyazaki Prefecture to meet aspiring hunter Antonia Schult from Germany. Working to help restore the balance between humans and nature and stop wildlife from damaging crops, Antonia and her senior hunters pay respect to every life they take, as according to Japanese hunting philosophy, animals are precious blessings from the gods. We also visit Italian Tommaso Puntelli, a craftsman who's been repairing violins in Tokyo for fourteen years.

This time we visit the snow-covered mountains in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture, where Canadian Dave Enright runs an outdoor recreation company. A seasoned backcountry skiing guide and avalanche safety expert, Dave welcomes tourists from overseas eager to hit the powdery snow in Japan and makes sure they're prepared for the hazards of the mountains. Tune in for an exciting snowy adventure! We also meet Nepalese Ramala Ghimire, who manages a public bath in Hakone that's a hit with the local elderly.

We meet Italian Francesco Panto, a psychiatrist in Saitama Prefecture who develops a therapy method that makes use of Japanese anime, as well as Brazilian Silvia De Souza who works at a coating plant in Toyama.

This time, we meet Togawa Aya, a naturalized Japanese born in China who runs a cafeteria in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, as well as May Zin Chit from Myanmar, who manages a convenience store in Tokyo.

This time, we follow three Ukrainians – a teenage boy and a female entrepreneur who both came to Japan thanks to martial arts, as well as a man who works in PR for a vertical farming company.

We meet Austrian fashion designer Edwina Horl Ota who works to bring her late husband's Tokyo ramen shop back to its former glory, and Chinese Masuda Sei who cleans up bullet trains at Tokyo Station.