Junten Junior High School / Senior High School

From Wednesday September 21st to Wednesday 28th, eleven 2nd Year SGH students and two 1st Year SGH students went to the Philippines for SGH Fieldwork.

Wednesday September 21st

Students departed from Haneda Airport. After arriving in Manila, the students went to San Augustin Church, the war memorial, and Manila Cathedral. Students learned that the Philippines has a history of being occupied by three different countries, including Japan.

＜Hanada Airport＞

＜San Augustin Church＞

＜War Memorial Park＞

Thursday September 22nd

Students visited the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines and met the embassy officials to learn about the role of the embassy and how Japan has worked with the Philippines. One of the officials, Director Tatsuo Kitagawa told the students, “The Philippines was the scene of hard-fought battles during WWII and a lot of people died due to the battles. We should never forget the history and should pass the history onto the future generations.” This message stayed in the minds of the students throughout the fieldwork. The embassy officials extended the meeting time to help students with their research questions and projects.  

＜At the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines＞

The group had lunch at Jolibee (the most popular fried chicken chain in the Philippines.) Then the group visited the memorial of the Bataan Death March. The Bataan Death March was a forced march for the captured Filipino and American POWs (Prisoners of War) by Japan. Junten students learned the details about the historical event and saw the railroad freight cars in which the POWs were crammed in to be transported to their final destination. Students made a prayer in front of the memorial walls that have the names of those who killed by the march.

＜Student learning about historical events at the Memorial Park＞

Friday September 23rd

Today, the group went to the Dagupan Garbage Dumpsite in Pangasinan and interviewed some people living nearby. Every day, 30 tons of garbage is dumped at the site and garbage has accumulated there for 50 to 60 years.

After lunch, the group moved to Karicaan, then interviewed local people and did a water quality examination. Student also met local children and played with them. There are about 1,000 residents, but the population is growing.

＜Garbage Dumpsite in Pangasinan＞

＜Interviewing Students Living in the Slum＞

 Students also met and talked with an 82 year-old survivor from WWII. Student were shocked to learn the atrocities that were done to the Filipinos by the Japanese. This survivor said, “I was very happy to see the Junten students and children in the slum playing together. “

＜Survivor talking to the Junten students＞　＜The children and Junten students were having a fun＞

Saturday September 24th

The group traveled to Sual. Students walked around Sual Market and interviewed some vendors, customers and bystanders. After that, they went to Caring for the Future Foundation’s Children Home and learned about the CFF’s activities and history. In the afternoon, students interviewed the residents in Baquioen, where they saw the residents’ ways of living and how it is so different from the lifestyle in Japan. Some students remarked that the people are happy with their lives even though they have limited resources.

＜CFF Children’s Home＞

＜At a village＞

Activities after September 25th will be recorded in Fieldwork Report 2.