A Helping Hand for Our Fellow Sri Lankans

Ibaraki Prefecture is home to a large population of Sri Lankans.

Amidst the difficulties brought on by the pandemic, two entrepreneurs lend their community a helping hand.

Running a welding factory is N.G.A.D. Chamila.

Above all, he values training and ensuring employment to his staff.

Learning technical skills
helps improve their work.

Meanwhile, looking for ways to deal with labor shortages in agriculture while also helping his compatriots is Sineth Lakmal.

He teaches farming skills to Sri Lankans so they can find work and contribute to the industry.

Now, you must focus on studying
to obtain your visa.

Let's take a closer look at their efforts to support their fellow Sri Lankans in Japan.

Some sixty kilometers northeast of Tokyo, the Tsukuba Science City in Ibaraki Prefecture regroups the facilities of several cutting-edge research institutes.

In a nearby suburban residential area, we stumble upon a former residence that was converted into a Sri Lankan Buddhist temple.

Today, a memorial service is being held to honor the death of the father of a member of the Sri Lankan community.

Conducting the ceremony is one of the resident priests who moved here from Sri Lanka.

Since Sri Lankans came to Ibaraki to export used automobiles, the community has grown over the past ten years, reaching more than 3,000 members today.

This temple is a gathering spot where they can share their joys and worries in this country far from their homeland.

However, with the lingering pandemic, more and more are finding themselves in a precarious situation.

About 40 km northeast of Tsukuba is the city of Omitama.

One business owner here is hoping to make it through the COVID crisis by training skilled technicians.

N.G.A.D. Chamila is the president of a welding company.

He and his staff weld together the framework for large structures, such as government-run warehouses.

Chamila puts a lot of effort in training his personnel to obtain certification in welding and other technical skills.

Of the company's 26 employees, 20 are now certified welders.

Let's finish this after lunch.

The company has earned recognition for its insistence on high-quality work that's always completed within deadlines.

It's got to be perfect or we do it over.

Quality and reliability determine whether
clients will ask for our work again.

When the pandemic first struck in 2020, business dropped dramatically.

But Chamila didn't lay off any of his staff.

He sees ensuring the employment of his trained technicians as the solution to help the company survive.

He also made sure to keep providing a comfortable and pleasant working environment for his employees.

On the factory's second floor is the cafeteria.

Chamila continues to make authentic Sri Lankan cuisine available every day to his workers, free of charge.

It's delicious.
It's the perfect fuel to keep us going.

It's a great place to work.
Plus, we get free lunch.

It's awesome.

Instead of laying off workers then rushing
to hire again when business picks up...

it's much better to keep and provide
for our skilled employees.

Yes, business is slower because of COVID,
but there's no need to worry.

We'll find work.

Although the pandemic struck hard, the company could find opportunities to recover, thanks to one Japanese man.

Takano Toshiyuki A former salesman in the steel industry, Takano shared Chamila's way of thinking,

and has been his business partner since 2019.

Making use of the network of relations he built up over thirty years, he was able to find welding contracts for major clients.

Having skilled technicians on the team made obtaining this new work possible.

Our philosophy is to invest in people.

In that sense, Chamila's thinking
matched mine from a management standpoint.

The staff is working hard.

After moving here from Sri Lanka,
I founded this company...

which allows me to provide work
for skilled Sri Lankans.

I want the company to continue to develop
so we can keep improving.

Skilled workers are the company's biggest asset - this is Chamila's philosophy.

Traveling about 40 km from Omitama, we reach the city of Joso.

It's here that we hop in for a ride with Sineth Lakmal, who works to provide support to his fellow Sri Lankans through agriculture.

In the suburbs is this warehouse that once stored lumber.

Now, it's Sineth's base of operations.

It's the office for his company.

He founded S.N. Lanka in 2019.

His focus is on agriculture.

In recent years, labor shortages have been an increasingly alarming issue for the industry.

In addition to growing vegetables, Sineth's company has also been importing and selling foods from Sri Lanka.

Although Sineth is the company's president, his resident status in Japan prevents him from receiving remuneration from his business.

He's currently awaiting a response to his application to obtain a business manager visa.

Almost all of the company's profits go to support Sineth's compatriots.

Behind his office...

...is a living space used by fellow Sri Lankans.

Some are without work because of the pandemic, others have quit their jobs due to excessively hard work conditions.

Sineth's company provides them with free food and shelter, as well as assistance in building a foundation for their life in Japan.

I lived here for a while
when I couldn't find work.

All I can do is give them meals
and a place to stay.

I don't mind going without eating
if I can help others get a bellyful.

It makes me feel happy.

Wishing to work in Japan, Milinda Sujith came to study in Kobe, but couldn't find employment after graduation due to the pandemic.

He lived at Sineth's facility for a year.

I've passed the test to become
a Specified Skilled Worker in agriculture.

I'm looking for work in farming.

The Specified Skilled Worker visa was set up in 2019 to address the increasing shortages of labor in sectors such as agriculture and the steel industry.

The visa allows people with specialized skills to work in Japan.

With a resident status as a Specified Skilled Worker in agriculture, people like Milinda can earn a living in farming.

Sineth wants his company to become a base of support for his fellow Sri Lankans.

His wish was born from his own experience.

Sineth first came to Japan in 2013 to work at a plastics factory in Ibaraki as a technical trainee.

But his first job there demanded he worked long hours with no days off.

Unable to bear such harsh working conditions, he eventually resigned.

Because of the political instability in Sri Lanka, going home was not an option for Sineth, who learned firsthand what it was like to be unemployed in a foreign country.

Regularly renewing his resident status, he's been providing support to compatriots in the same situation.

How are they going to feed themselves
and make a living without work?

They don't know what to do.

And so, Sineth founded his company.

Someone has been helping him ever since.

Ogasawara Noriko ran a local pub.

Noriko is like a mother to us.

Many of her shop's clientele were Sri Lankans.

As she was already assisting them with visa renewal applications, she started expanding the scope of her support.

She helps Sineth's company, notably with tax-related matters.

They came to this faraway country
and were going through difficulties.

So, I wanted to help them.

Sri Lanka has a Buddhist culture
that's similar to ours.

They're such nice young people.

Today, Sineth pays a visit to a farmer who was introduced to him by Noriko.

- Good afternoon.
- Nice to see you again.

Since he suffered a stroke, Oshima Sakae has been unable to run his farm.

He'd been considering getting rid of it.

Hearing of Oshima's situation, Noriko thought of Sineth, who was looking for a place to grow crops all year long.

She arranged for the two to meet and came to help with negotiating an arrangement.

This is good land.
Vegetables would grow well here.

We can enjoy working hard here.

- It was going to waste anyway.
- We're glad you can use it.

The Oshimas had spent around 120,000 US dollars to build this greenhouse.

They decided to rent it to Sineth for only the cost of utilities.

I'm so happy.
Thank you so much.

He says thank you.

I'm grateful.

So am I.

Sineth's new project to support his fellow Sri Lankans is moving ahead.

Recently, Sineth has been particularly worried for this newcomer, Suranjith.

He had been working as a technical trainee in a nearby prefecture.

However, the grueling work eventually exhausted him both physically and mentally.

After quitting his job, he came to Sineth for help.

Suranjith's current visa only permits him to work a maximum of 28 hours a week.

And the visa will expire in three months.

He's unsure whether he'll be able to renew it.

They can't work full time.

How are they going to make a living?

Since Suranjith can't find new employment because of the pandemic, Sineth suggests he tries to obtain a Specified Skilled Worker visa in farming.

Now, he must focus on studying
to obtain his visa.

Sineth takes Suranjith to the rented greenhouse.

The goal is for him to learn farming through hands-on work growing Sri Lankan produce, starting today... with weeding.

Weeds keep growing.
You've got to spot and remove them.

Otherwise, it's bad for the crops.
These are veggies, so they're OK.

This is a weed.

Finding and removing weeds is a basic but crucial part of the work.

Hard soil is no good.

We have to soften the upper layer.
Like this.

The rows are covered with plastic sheets to raise their temperature and thus promote growth.

Also, tilling the top layer of soil helps produce healthy and tasty vegetables.

Sineth has also started a study group to help Sri Lankans who wish to obtain a Specified Skilled Worker visa.

Which is the correct answer?
This, or this?

This is.

As his visa's expiration draws nearer, Suranjith must study hard.

A month has passed.

The day has come to harvest the beets Suranjith and the others grew with patience and care.

Suranjith has made much progress.

Sineth is hopeful.

I taught him and he worked hard.
He's improved a lot.

I'll keep learning and practicing here
so I can pass the test.

I hope to get my visa
and work in farming for a long time.

I want to help everyone obtain their visa,
and even have their families come over.

Little by little, Sineth's efforts to help his fellow Sri Lankans are bearing fruit.

Hi, I'm Paek Sumin.

I plan a car sharing service.

Let me show you my work.

9:00 a.m.
arriving at work The car sharing service allows users
to easily rent one of our cars...

available at parking garages.

Reasonable fees and many pickup locations
make the service a hit in urban areas.

Sumin is in charge of planning strategies
to increase the service’s customer base.

Most car sharing services don't allow pets.

But with the pandemic, many people became
pet owners, which are a potential market.

If we promote our service as pet-friendly...

it would create a positive response.

Today, she checks out a parking garage
that’s also a pickup location.

I check the number and kinds of cars
our competitors put here...

and who their target customers are.

They've got nice cars.

I'm lost.

Hold on.

Ah, here!

I'll show you how it works.

With an app, users can unlock the car
and pick up the keys inside.

The service is 24/7,
with no close contact with anyone.

Compared with competitors
who have sports cars and more vehicles...

our service may seem rather plain.

We need to work on that.

Car sharing is seen
as somewhat uncool.

We could add new high-end models
to our car lineup.

It would give a bit of a trendy appeal.
‘You can drive the hottest new models.' Sumin’s idea was picked up.

A fan of Japanese novels, she came to Japan
on a Working Holiday visa after high school.

I was looking for my dream.

Through the Working Holiday visa,
I've had many experiences...

and found a new goal for myself:
I wanted to study more.

Sumin studied economics at university
in Japan, and found this job in 2018.

Before COVID, we put a lot of focus
on promoting family driving trips.

Now, there's more demand for traveling
or commuting without contact with people.

So we shifted our marketing to that target.

Sumin also proposed a car and camping gear
rental service that was a big success.

This is Kudo-san, my department's manager.

Not many women in our firm have attained
management positions. She's a role model.

I was rather shy and not very confident.

Kudo-san always told me, ‘Don't worry.'
‘I know you can do it, Sumin.' She's been very encouraging.

Sumin understands what I assign her
right away.

She's very thorough
and never cuts corners.

She always brings results
that are beyond my expectations.

So, I'm confident
she can handle any project.

Sumin regularly checks feedback
from customers on social media “My first time with an EV. It was fun!”
“I got to drive my dream car!”

Freedom of movement,
and the joy and experience...

of reaching one's destination.
Cars make that possible.

I want to come up with new services
that are tailored to today's needs.

My blog from when I first
came to Japan at 18.

My mother turned it into a book for me.

It was tough. My Japanese was poor.
I got scolded at my part-time job.

There are some comments my family wrote.

“We’re so amazed and proud
to see you build a life for yourself.” Looking back at those difficult times
gives me strength to keep doing my best.