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90-Year-Old Filipino-Born Japanese Woman Plans First Trip to Okinawa
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Planned Okinawa Visit by Adelaida Kakazu
Adelaida Kakazu, a 90-year-old second-generation Japanese woman born in Manila, intends to travel to Okinawa Prefecture before the end of the year. She hopes to meet surviving relatives and pay respects at her father’s grave after decades of separation that began with the aftermath of World War II.
Post-War Family Separation and Repatriation
Adelaida’s father, Noboru Kakazu, a native of Okinawa, was repatriated to Japan with his eldest son, Shoichi, following the war’s conclusion in 1945. Noboru died in 1951. Shoichi returned to the Philippines in the 1970s, and contact with the Okinawan branch of the family was lost before his death in 1992. The split reflects the broader experience of many Japanese descendants left behind in the Philippines after the conflict.
Legal Restoration of Japanese Nationality
Earlier this year a Japanese court approved the restoration of Adelaida’s Japanese nationality, a step that enabled her to formalize plans for the trip. The restoration followed the discovery of marriage records and other documents after a grandchild of Adelaida contacted a support group for people of Japanese descent left in the Philippines.
Search Efforts and Ongoing Appeal
With assistance from the Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center and a support group for relatives in Japan, Adelaida has identified her father’s registered domicile in Itoman, Okinawa, and learned that he had an elder brother, Naoshi, who had at least two children. However, locating any living relatives remains unresolved. Adelaida and the legal support center are publicly appealing for information that could reunite her with her long-separated family members.