"We're not making foreigners work for us. We are having them work for us." The fifth episode (broadcast on February 4th) of NHK's "Drama 10 'Tokyo Salad Bowl'" (General TV, Tuesday 10pm), co-starring actors Nao and Ryuhei Matsuda, focused on the environment and position of foreign workers who come to Japan as technical intern trainees through an incident at a certain care facility. The opening line is part of the words spoken by interpreter Imai (Takeda Rena) towards the end of the episode, when a colleague had been treating a Vietnamese staff member suspected of theft as a nuisance. After the episode aired, various opinions were exchanged about the episode, and we spoke to Ietomi Mio, the drama's production director.
◇Interpreter Imai's words: "As someone who lives in the same society..."
The drama is based on the manga "Tokyo Salad Bowl - International Investigation Case File" by Kuromaru, who is also known for "Kurosagi." Set in Tokyo, where about 700,000 foreign residents live, Nao plays the green-haired international investigation police officer Mari Koda, and together with the troubled Chinese interpreter Ryo Yukino, played by Matsuda, the drama is a socially conscious entertainment that picks up the lives of those who are about to fall through the cracks of Japanese society.
The subtitle of the fifth episode is "Tien and Susumu". A tablet belonging to a resident is stolen from a nursing home. The police investigate a Vietnamese care staff member, Tien (Nguyen Truong Khang), who is suspected of the theft.
Vietnamese interpreter Imai discovers bruises on Tien's body. Yukino comforts Imai, who is depressed by the harsh reality of foreign workers. While searching for the truth, Koda finds Hayakawa (Kodai Kurosaki), a care staff member whom Tien called "friend"... and so the story unfolds.
Towards the end of the film, Tien's colleague Betsushima (Kameda Yoshiaki) says this during questioning:
"When the number of foreigners increases, public safety deteriorates and crime increases. That's what happened in Europe with its immigration policies. And yet Japan is also saying we need to increase the number of foreigners, more and more. So what will happen then? Once minorities are no longer a minority, they'll inevitably start clamoring for more rights. And forget about your position as someone who is working in Japan!"
Imai, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, stopped Betsushima as he was leaving and began by saying, "I'm saying this for the future." He then said in a strong tone, "We are not making foreigners work for us. We are having them work for us. Japan's population is declining, the number of children is decreasing, and there is not enough labor or spending power to maintain the current society. This country can no longer survive on Japanese people alone. I'm not saying you should force yourself to love foreigners, but even if you view them as enemies and try to exclude them, you won't be able to protect your place in the world. As someone who lives in the same society, you have to at least accept them. It will only make you suffer. Japan is going to change."
◇ Divided reactions among staff: "This is the nature of the matter and its difficulty"
On social media, viewers responded to Beshima and Imai's "true feelings" about foreign workers, which they each shared from their own perspective. Various opinions were expressed, resulting in a debate of both pros and cons, but there is no doubt that many viewers felt that this episode "took a deeper look" into real-life issues.
Ietomi also recalled, "It was a scene that required a great deal of determination and power to create."
Prior to this scene, Kota had discussed with members of the interpretation center about the "flaws (problems)" of the current foreign technical intern training system. According to Ietomi, "it's not something that we normally have a chance to talk about, and many people are hesitant to say anything," but regarding the problems with the system and the harsh reality of foreign workers, Ietomi positioned Episode 5 as the "navel" of the nine-part drama series, and felt that "putting all the knowledge we've gained up to now (Episodes 1 to 4) into the mix and saying it so clearly there shows the significance of doing this series," so he tried to do so.
The words spoken by Imai in the film were already in the original manga. This time, the film was adapted with almost the same content.
Ietomi said, "Imai is a woman who tells Besshima what she thinks, not just as an interpreter, but as a person, so it was great to think that I could say it in the drama as well. And when Takeda Rena says it in a way that would resonate as Imai's words, I thought that if it can help someone, I wanted to do it properly. Rena has an incredibly good sense of balance, and I am truly grateful that she was able to carry the feelings of the production team on her own."
On the other hand, Ietomi-san said, "It was very meaningful to make Betsushima three-dimensional." It is also true that after the drama aired, some viewers were moved by Betsushima's words. That is why there were both positive and negative reactions.
Regarding Betsushima, Ietomi expressed her understanding, saying, "I think there are definitely some parts where he gets irritated, and I can understand why." She continued, "Reactions were divided among the staff. About half of the staff said they completely understood what Betsushima was saying. I felt that this is the essence of the matter, and that it is that difficult. In fact, the historical researchers all said they were 'very anxious' about this issue, and that even if they worked on it for 10 or 20 years, nothing would change. It would be really uncomfortable to remain silent about things that affect people's lives and destinies, so I thought I'd try it this time."
