THE 16th Philippine-Japan Festival, with the theme “Philippine-Japan Festival: A Celebration of History, Cultural Heritage and, Friendship” was successfully held last October 2 to 5, 2018.
The festival was a joint endeavor of the Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai Inc. (PNJK), PNJK International School (PNJKIS), Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku (MKD), and Japan-Philippine Volunteer Association (JPVA).
It was in 2002 when I proposed that the Nikkeijin (half-blooded Filipino-Japanese descendants) should hold this kind of festival in order for us to share to the Davao community, especially to the young generation, the beautiful culture of the two countries. Likewise, I also chair the organizing committee annually, from the year 2002 until the present.
The venue of the different events was the different gyms, classrooms, and AVR at MKD and PNJKIS. For this year’s festival, we also commemorated the 100-year anniversary since the establishment of the Davao Japanese Association, the pioneer members of which were our Japanese ancestors in Davao.
We started our activities this year last October 2 with a seminar entitled “Japanese in Davao: Past and Present.” The seminar was attended by 230 people including SHS and college students from MKD and Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU), professionals, DepEd and government officials, Japanese community in Davao, and people from the media.
I take pride in the success of our seminar since many of those who attended the learning session appreciated the learning session and stated that they had gained new insights on Philippine-Japan relations and history of Davao. The seminar was jointly organized by MKD and AdDU, with the strong support from the Consular Office of Japan in Davao, especially Consul Yoshiaki Miwa and the Embassy of Japan. We also received a grant from Japan Foundation Manila (JFM) for the said seminar.
Simultaneously, we also had our medical outreach program and blood-letting activity by the MKD’s BS Social Services department and PNJK Polyclinic in cooperation with the Red Cross that benefited more than 100 people from the community on October 2. There was also a motorcade around the city in the afternoon.
Our kick-off program in the morning of October 3 was a huge success that was attended by more than 1,000 participants, with guests even coming from Japan. The program that was held inside our school gym in the morning, showcased the beautiful culture of Japan with a mixture of Davao’s ethnic dances. The highlight of the program was the Taiko and Omikoshi performance.
Through this kind of activity that is open to the public, we are more than happy. It is during occasions like this that we feel extremely grateful that we are born half-Japanese since we could enjoy and share as well the best of our two beloved countries! (Ines Mallari)