We want to create an environment where foreign mothers living in Japan can feel safe during pregnancy, childbirth, and child rearing!

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About us

（本文で使われている写真は全て掲載許諾済みです）

Hello everyone!

This is NPO Mother's Tree Japan.

 

We are supporting foreign women living in Japan during their prenatal, postpartum, and start term of child-rearing, not only the language but also the culture, customs and religion.

 

There are many foreigners living in Japan, including foreign students and workers. As the number of foreign families who living in Japan is increasing, the number of pregnant and childbirth foreign mothers in Japan is increasing year by year.

 

❝ Even Japanese mothers who give birth in their home country experience a lot of stress , such as maternity blues, and postpartum depression, so for foreign women it could be even more difficult to give birth here in Japan without any cultural or language supports. ❞

 

The Executive Director Tomomi Tsubonoya, who grew up in foreign country and saw her own mother struggled to raise her child despite language barriers, has been supporting many mothers as a nursery teacher and prenatal and postnatal therapist. Based on her experience she launched Mother's Tree Japan as an NPO in 2020.

 

 

We want foreign mothers who have had the opportunity to come to Japan to have a safe and comfortable birth experience, which is a major highlight of their lives.

 

And as they raise their children in the local community, we hope that they will think, "I am glad I gave birth in Japan," or "Japan is a warm country!" If they feel that way, it will be a small but warm "international exchange," which in turn will be the seed of "international peace."

 

With this in mind, we have supported more than 1,000 foreign mothers living in Japan over the past two years and 10 months by chaperone, on line counseling, online counseling sessions, mothers' salons, and free distribution of multilingual materials for childbirth, while respecting not only the language but also culture, religion, and customs.

 

Instead of unilaterally teaching or imposing the Japanese way of doing things, we listen carefully to what the person is struggling with, and with the help of over 30 foreign volunteers from 10 different countries, we provide warm, personalized support to each person!

 

 

 

Last year, we also challenged crowdfunding , and many people supported us from the very first day when we were overwhelmed with anxiety.

 

We received many warm comments such as, "Actually, I thought this kind of activity was necessary myself," and "This is the first time I learned about this issue, and I wanted to support it," which really made us happy and excited to know that so many people were interested.

 

Last year, we conducted crowdfunding for the continuation of the organization, and thanks to everyone's support, we were able to continue our activities. This year, we would like to deliver the support to even more foreign mothers and babies.

 

 

Is it caused by they are foreigners or they don't speak Japanese?
We want to change the current situation in Japan where foreign mothers are sometimes refused even health checkups.

 

It should be a time of celebration, but it's not・・・

 

In the course of being close to foreign mothers, we have experienced many joyful moments. The joy of celebrating the birth of a new life together, regardless of nationality, is something that is beyond words!

 

However, there are also many things that shock us.

 

 

In fact, these are the words of OB/GYN doctors and receptionists that we have seen and heard.

 

It is sobering to think what would happen if our family, friends, or children were to give birth while abroad and were told these words.

 

A new life deserves to be celebrated with "Congratulations"...

 

And yet, to think that these are the first words that would be spoken to the baby.

 

For their spouse's job, as an exchange student, or for their own work...the reasons are different, but the women who came to Japan by fate and decided to give birth in Japan instead of in their home country face many medical terms that even Japanese people don't know, piles of documents written in difficult words, and a system of childbirth that is different from their own country.

 

When they come to the hospital with such confusion and anxiety, they feel unwelcome by the attitude of the doctors and receptionists...

Nervousness prevents you from speaking the words you have worked so hard to memorize...

All she could understand was the doctor's words, "go back to your own country if you don't like it”...

 

Just imagining it would make us panic.

 

The lack of understanding of religion can force her to move from one hospital to another.

 

It is said that the number of students and workers from Indonesia and Bangladesh, where there are many Muslims, will increase more and more, and even today, when one in four people in the world is Muslim, it is still difficult to gain understanding in Japan.

 

Support for such Muslim women is one of our important activities.

 

 

 

Pregnant foreign women tend to have minor problems due to stress.

 

These factors explain why the perinatal mortality rate of foreign women's babies is 1.37 times higher than that of Japanese, and why they have more minor problems. Gestational hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and threatened premature delivery are also common.

 

(Data from the Public Interest Incorporated Association Maternal and Child Health Promotion Council (2020))

 

Hoping to prevent these problems, we hold various lectures and salons every month to attend to the concerns of foreign mothers.

 

 

 

Ms. Linh, a Vietnamese student who had been participating in our online motherhood classes all along and got through the delivery and postpartum period with us, was one of those who had difficulty communicating with medical personnel before the birth and panicked.

 

We provided her with interpreter volunteers who could be connected online at any time, and we all work together from postpartum to nursery school to get through.

 

Lynn wrote us about her experience and impressions, so please take a look if you would like to read it.

(You can read the text here)

 

 

 

To bring smiles to the faces of everyone, both medical professionals and foreign mothers.

 

Nevertheless, it is also true that Obstetrics and gynecology in Japan are under severe circumstances. Public hospitals are especially hard hit due to circumstances where budgets are being cut by the government.

 

This is why Obstetrics and gynecology are overflowing with pregnant women who have to wait for hours for checkups, even though Japan's birthrate is said to be declining. I heard from a midwife at a hospital that this is where the lack of understandingof the doctors comes from.

 

However, if there are more people who are willing to stand by the side of foreign mothers, if some useful tools with which the communication with doctors would spread, more hospitals may be willing to accept foreign mothers.

Then, we may be able to walk to the birth of our babies with smiles on each other's faces.

 

Therefore, we launched this project with the aim of spreading the "Finger Pointing Medical Checkup Notebook" and other tools we created through last year's crowdfunding to more Obstetrics and gynecology, medical professionals, and supporters throughout Japan, and to share our know-how and increase the number of fellow supporters.

 

The "Finger Pointing Medical Checkup Notebook" is a handbook that allows medical professionals and foreign mothers to communicate with each other based on the expressions used during a maternity checkup, with illustrations and furigana in Japanese and the mother's native language.

Anyone can download it for free from our website.

 

 

 

Specifics of this project

 

Once we have achieved our goal with your support, Japanese and foreign volunteer members will work together on the following two projects.

1. Nationwide dissemination and distribution of the "Pointing Board Series" to connect medical professionals, public health nurses, and foreign mothers.
2. Share our know-how and increase the number of supporters nationwide.

 

 

 

 

Your support will be used carefully to cover the following expenses

 

 

The success of the crowdfunding campaign will be a song of support for foreign mothers, that sings "So many Japanese people are supporting us in our childbirth and child-raising!"
This will be not only a song of support for the foreign mothers but also a great encouragement for the foreign volunteer members who support the foreign mothers.

 

When we achieve our goal, we would like to let the foreign mothers know through FB and other events that "there are so many people who value you in JAPAN"

 

 

Please support us by becoming a Mothers Tree!

 

Last year, a group of junior high school students from the provinces visit NPO Mother's Tree Japan and we talked a lot.

 

We would like to introduce wonderful words of a boy who were in the group.

 

❝There are more and more foreigners in our country town and I see some pregnant women. To be honest, I'm a bit confused. But I wanted to help them.That why I was interested in the NPO Mother's Tree Japan, because I didn't know how to help them by myself.❞

 

We were so moved and really happy to see such frank feelings and perspective from the younger generation.

 

We call not only those who can specifically chaperone or participate in our activities, but also those who sympathize with and support our project 'a Mother's Tree.'

 

Please become 'a Mother's Tree' and support our activities and the foreign mothers.

 

 

 

Toward a society where children grow up in a "multicultural child-rearing network with a rich interweaving of cultures"

 

In fact, we often hear people say, "Why do you support foreign mothers?" or "Japanese mothers are also having a hard time, so shouldn't we support them first?"

 

We believe that supporting foreign mothers is directly linked to supporting Japanese mothers in raising their children and supporting their children who will live in an increasingly global and diverse society.

 

Our neighbors who came to Japan from all over the world by fate.

 

And our friends in the community who are surely supporting the society of Japan together.

 

The number of such people is sure to increase in the future, and Japan is now in the midst of a major transitional period in its transformation into a multicultural society.

 

I want these "neighbors from around the world who live in the same town" to like Japan more and feel happy to have come to Japan.

 

And when the day comes when they return to their own country, if they can tell their children, "Japan is a country full of warm people, and you were born in such a country"...that is the kind of activity we are aiming for.

 

❝ Even if you experience a lot of bad things, if you are truly cherished by just one person, you will love that country. ❞

 

This is a common sentiment shared by the Executive Director who grew up abroad, Japanese staff who have experienced childbirth abroad, and foreign staff who have had children in Japan.

 

We hope to be a small but powerful part of that, and to be Mother's Tree. We believe that this is where true international exchange and peace can begin, even though it may be small.

 

Many people have the image that multiculturalism is for foreigners, but in fact, I feel that multiculturalism is also for Japanese people.

 

Even in an increasingly diverse society, the act of "giving birth to and raising children" is universal, a fundamental activity common to all mothers. That is why deep empathy is born, feelings of mutual help are born, and smiles abound.

 

 

And because we live in a diverse society, we can share the wisdom of each country's parenting practices.

 

For example, it is a chance for Japanese mothers to free themselves from the "phantom uniform ideal of child-rearing" and find their own unique child-rearing style.

 

Our thoughts were conveyed to the nation on June 22, 2023 by NHK's morning show live on air.

 

 

Mother Tree and Mother's Tree

 

 

Coincidentally, the book "Mother's Tree" was published last year and became a bestseller. In fact, we named our activity Mother's Tree Japan without knowing about this research of Dr. Kato, but as I read the book, I felt a strong synchronization with the results and thoughts of Dr. Kato's research.

 

Based on the results of his meticulous experiments, the book describes how the trees in the forest have created a dense and sophisticated network through the fungi in their roots, sharing not only nutrients and water but also information and cooperating with each other to protect and nurture the next generation of forests against various difficulties. The book was based on the results of elaborate experiments.

 

The richer the variety of colorful fungi on the roots of trees, the stronger the network and the healthier the young trees will grow. I strongly felt that this is precisely the hint for nurturing the next generation while facing difficulties in the coming age.

 

Trees planted singly will eventually die no matter how much fertilizer is applied. However, Dr. Kato proved with 30 years of data that by accepting differences and having a network to share wisdom and resources with each other, we can face various challenges.

 

By bringing together racial and cultural differences, and the colorful array of different characteristics, we can build a network that nurtures the next generation in mutual relationships, in which young mothers and their children are protected and nourished, receive and exchange wisdom, and enrich society.

 

We are working toward this goal, which is a bit far into the future.

 

Please become a Mother' Tree and support the realization of such a society and a prosperous future for future children.

 

 

 

Supporters' Messages

 

President, Souai University

Professor Tesshu Shaku

 

Full-time Corporate Auditor, Ryohin Keikaku Co.

Mr. Kei Suzuki

 

Shanti Volunteer Association

Mr. Seigen Muramatsu

 

Representative of Mamo Heart

NPO Mother's Tree Japan Kansai Region Volunteer, Yumeki

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[Press Release]

◾ NHK WORLD「Childrearing Beyond Borders」（2023年4月3日）

◾ 一般財団法人自治体国際化協会 CLAIR「自治体国際化フォーラム」（2023年4月）

◾ Eテレ すくすく子育こそだて「日本で暮らす外国人の子育こそだて」（2022年12月3日放映）

◾ たまひよオンライン

「日本で暮らす外国人のお母さんと日本人のお母さんの『多文化共生子育て』をめざして」（2022年10月26日）

「『ちがうをみとめる　ちがうをこえる　ちがうをたのしむ』? Mother’s Tree Japanの想いと在日外国人ママを取り巻く現状?」（2022年10月26日）

◾ クーリエ・ジャポン「在日外国人女性の妊娠・出産支援が、日本を『居心地のよい社会』にする」（2022年7月27日）

◾ 東京都多文化共生ポータル れすぱす（2022年5月）

◾ 東京都社会福祉協議会福祉広報12月号 「地域における多文化共生のいま⑤」（2021年12月）

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【受賞歴】

NPO推進協議会 第17回 社会貢献見本市 養老乃瀧賞 （2023年3月18日）

豊島区子ども若者応援プロジェクト優秀賞 （2023年1月23日）

としまイノベーションプランコンテスト2020 ニュービジネスプラン部門 審査員会特別賞 （2021年3月31日）

東京商工会議所 第2回 としま社会貢献活動大賞（はばたけ！部門） （2021年3月28日）

としまNPO推進協議会 第14回 社会貢献見本市 渡辺建設賞 受賞（2020年8月22日）

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