The Commission on Filipinos Overseas stressed the importance of the value of the integration initiatives by partners from Japan, which has the third-highest population of CFO constituents.
“We commend the initiatives of our partner organizations in Japan, most specially, Sasakawa Peace Foundation in fostering coexistence among foreign nationals. This is a boost for us as Japan is one of the top destinations of Filipino emigrants,” CFO chairperson Secretary Dante “Klink” Ang II said on Thursday in an international symposium titled: “Creating a multicultural society with foreign communities: cases from the Philippines, Nepal, and Uzbekistan.”
Ang stressed during his panel discussion the value of the collaborative efforts between CFO and partner organizations from Japan. “These collaborative efforts align with the mandate of the CFO of not just protecting Filipino migrants, but also ensuring that they are in environment where they can contribute significantly.”
Aimed at taking a deeper understanding between the approaches to diaspora of concerned countries in order to explore initiatives and programs that would foster coexistence between Japan and foreign nationals, the symposium hosted by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) on June 19, 2025 brought together leaders, stakeholders, and advocates for migrant rights and multicultural integration in Japan to strengthen dialogue and cooperation on migrant development and diaspora engagement.
Ang on his part presented the mandate of the CFO, highlighted by the on-going Paglalayag initiative which is a collaborative effort between the commission, SPF, Kakehashi, and the Citizen’s Network for Global Activities (CINGA).
Aside from Ang, the panelists and speakers in the symposium are Immigration Service Agency of Japan Director General, Nobuko Fukuhara and Director Mitsue Numoto; SPF Program Officer, Masako Iwashina; Bhandari Kamana and Shakya Mina of Non-Profit Organization (NPO) CINGA; and Kakehashi volunteer, Dr. Maria Carmelita Zulueta Kasuya.
