SAPILNIP Holds Second Lecture on “Reflections on the ‘Imin’ as a ‘Lost’ Settler Community in Iloilo”

April 15, 2025by secretariat in NANTOKU, SAPILNIP

On March 29, 2025, the Samahan ng mga Pilipinong Nag-Aral at Nanirahan sa Nippon (SAPILNIP) continued its “Nantoku Lecture Series” at the University of the Philippines Visayas, Iloilo City Campus. The featured speaker, Dr. Ma. Luisa Mabunay, Ph.D., a retired professor from UP Visayas, delivered a powerful and enlightening lecture on the little-known history of the Imin—early Japanese immigrants who settled in Iloilo during the early 20th century.

The “Nantoku Lectures” are part of SAPILNIP’s efforts, led by descendants of the wartime Nanpo Tokubetsu Ryugakusei (南方特別留学生 or “Nantoku”), to rediscover and discuss neglected histories of Filipino-Japanese encounters. This series seeks to explore individual and collective narratives that highlight the long-standing human connections between the two nations.

Framed within the theme of “Japanese Migration and Memory,” Dr. Mabunay’s presentation shed light on the Imin’s overlooked legacy as economic refugees and settlers, many of whom became entangled in the turbulent currents of war and occupation. Through carefully retracing historical narratives and personal accounts, the lecture invited attendees to reflect on how these migrants shaped Iloilo’s cultural and economic landscape. 

Dr. Mabunay narrated the Imin’s journey— from their arrival and settlement in Iloilo to the social stigmas and prejudices their descendants faced in the years following the Second World War. She emphasized how these “suppressed selves” became silent witnesses to a “lost” community whose presence gradually disappeared from public memory and historical records due to postwar repatriation and erasure. Dr. Mabunay discussed how the rise of global migration and war tensions in the early 20th century positioned the Imin in a vulnerable space between belonging and othering. She highlighted how Japanese laborers who initially migrated for agricultural and construction work—particularly in Iloilo’s economic zones—contributed quietly but significantly to the local economy. The lecture also explored themes of reconciliation and remembrance, which highlighted contemporary efforts to reconnect with the past through family reunions, memorials, and public initiatives that honor the Imin legacy. These gestures not only provide closure for descendants but also foster broader conversations about identity, belonging, and historical justice. Dr. Mabunay further reflected on how local oral histories and the rediscovery of graves, documents, and photographs have helped piece together fragmented accounts of Japanese-Filipino interactions in Iloilo.

Special attention was also given to the Nikkeijin— descendants of Japanese migrants—and their continuing efforts to reclaim identity amidst the broader context of economic migration. Their stories serve as a reminder of the deep-seated ties between the Philippines and Japan, shaped not only by official diplomacy but also by personal and collective encounters across time.

To cap off the event, participants were invited to accomplish a survey questionnaire— a reflective activity aimed at capturing their insights and responses to the lecture. This final segment contributes to SAPILNIP’s ongoing commitment to documenting public memory and fostering deeper engagement with the enduring legacy of the Imin.

Through initiatives like the Nantoku Lecture Series, SAPILNIP continues to illuminate forgotten narratives and honor the lived experiences that lie at the intersections of Filipino and Japanese histories. By revisiting the stories of the Imin and engaging communities in dialogue and reflection, the series not only bridges past and present but also inspires a more inclusive and compassionate understanding of shared heritage— one story, one voice at a time.

Photos

NANTOKU

NANTOKU

The Nantoku Program (1943-1945)

In 1943, Japan introduced a scholarship program designed to educate, train and nurture young men from occupied territories in Southeast Asia who were carefully selected to become future leaders and eventually serve as Japan’s “Kakehashi” 架け橋 – bridges to Japan. Some 200 youth from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaya, Java, Sumatra, Brunei and Burma were sent to study in Japan until the end of the Pacific War in 1945. These students were called the Nampo Tokubetsu Ryugakusei (南方特別留学生) or Special Foreign Students from the Southern Areas. They were often referred to in abbreviated form as the Nantoku 南特 .

The war’s end in 1945 resulted in the termination of the Nantoku program and most of the students were repatriated to their home countries. They resumed their lives as university students, military and police officers, and the like, eventually becoming prominent persons in their chosen careers.

Interestingly, by the mid-1970s, many of the Nantoku were able to reconnect through Japan’s Tsudoi 集Program, which eventually led to the establishment of the Philippine Federation of Japan Alumni (PHILFEJA) in 1976 and the ASEAN Council of Japan Alumni (ASCOJA) in 1977. That was also the year when the Fukuda Doctrine of “Heart-to-Heart” relations between Japan and Southeast Asia was proclaimed. It is not a coincidence that the Fukuda Doctrine was espoused by Japan alumni from ASEAN as the cornerstone that underpinned the creation of ASCOJA.

Understanding the Nantoku

Many books, essays and literature on the Nantoku Program of 1943, both in Japan and in the Philippines (and in other Asian countries as well) have been written through the years. The seminal research of Prof. Grant Goodman1 on the Nantoku is considered one of the more comprehensive documentation of this wartime effort of Japan to educate and nurture Southeast Asian youth.

Publications on the Filipino Nantoku have also been released, including those written by the wartime Filipino students themselves during their lifetimes. Research, books, essays, literary materials, records, photographs on the Nantoku have surely accumulated over the last seven decades in Japan (mainly in Nihongo) and other countries, presumably scattered and obscure in various archives and libraries.

While the Nantoku may be considered a minor footnote of World War II, narratives of their wartime experience as foreigners studying in Japan offer a unique, and extraordinarily positive glimpse of day-to-day life in Tokyo during the war of these young students living in the various prefectures they were sent to study.

Nantoku Descendants

The Nantoku are now survived by their sons and daughters, even grandchildren who yearn to understand the context of the Nantoku Program, notably under the prism of the ASCOJA which their forebears helped to establish based primarily on their shared personal experiences as students in Japan from 1943 to 1945. These Nantoku descendants seek to unearth the unique relevance of the Nantoku and how they contributed to post-war ASEAN-Japan relations. They share an inherent desire to honor the Nantoku who once upon a time lived and studied in Japan under dire circumstances and who later on appreciated the value of their Japanese education and experience, regardless of the motivations and circumstances that underpinned that fateful chapter of their young lives.

The Nantoku descendants believe that their fathers’ stories are worth sharing. Stories of interpersonal encounters and relationships among fellow Filipino wartime students, with their Asian school mates, their Japanese teachers, supervisors, friendships they forged during the war.

By unearthing the stories of the Nantoku and periods preceding, during and after their time as Ryugakusei, this Program hopes to sharpen the historical context of that chapter of history, and hopefully illumine the motivations that propelled them to eventually offer their lives for the sake of peace, harmony and friendship between Japan and Southeast Asia.

This Project (Nantoku Program) has the potential of establishing a link between cultures and peoples, across generations, in the spirit of the Fukuda Doctrine of Heart-to-Heart relationships between Japan and the peoples of Southeast Asia. It hopes to catalyze the nurturing and continuation of the friendship and fraternity of the Nantoku among past, current and future generations of Asian Ryugakusei. It aspires to provide a foundation for understanding, appreciating and promoting the Ryugaku experience, not only for Filipinos but for the rest of ASEAN Ryugakusei as well.

Headlines

Nantoku History

1943

Fifty young Filipinos were selected by Japanese military authorities in 1943/1944 to study in Japan with the aim of training them in the Japanese language and educating them on Japanese history, culture and its role in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It was hoped that these young men would become future leaders and serve as bridges (“Kakehashi” 架け橋) between the Philippines and Japan.

In total, some 200 young men from territories occupied by Japan were sent to Japan under the Nanpo Tokubetsu Ryugakusei Program (1943-1945). Among the 50 Filipinos were sons of high-ranking officials of the Philippine wartime government, young men with high academic credentials, and former Filipino USAFFE soldiers recruited from the Bureau of Constabulary (police). The youngest in the group were only 15 years old while the older ones (constabulary officers) were in their mid- to late-20s.

“During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the Japanese government sponsored students to study in Japan, with two groups being sent Japan in 1943 and 1944. The program was administrated out of the former American School in Japan by a part of the Ministry of Greater East Asia. Prior to departing for Japan, the students were disciplined by the Second Republic Constabulary to cleanse their thinking of anti-Japanese sentiments; this was conducted at Malacañang, but only after the students had passed individual interviews with a panel of Japanese officials which included General Wachi. In total there were a total of 51 students who studied in Japan under the program, referred to as “Nantoku” ナントク.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pensionado_Act

“… students from Southeast Asian Countries, “Nampo Tokubetsu Ryugakusei” in Japanese, were the first foreign students sponsored by the Japanese government. At that time, Japan had a plan to establish the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,” and these students were selected from Southeast Asian countries to become leaders of said sphere. For this purpose, 205 youth came to Japan between 1943 and 1944.”

https://hiroshimaforpeace.com/en/the-ruins-of-the-konan-dormitory/

The first group of Filipino Nantoku ‘pensionados’ left on July 8, 1943 while the second group reached Japan in June 1944. They all went to the International Students Institute (Kokusai Gakuyu Kai 国際学友会), a Japanese language school in Tokyo where they were school mates with similarly selected Nantoku from Burma, Thailand, Java, Sumatra, Malaya and Brunei. After completing their basic Japanese language training, the Nantoku were sent to various schools in Japan – Kyushu, Hiroshima, Gifu and others. On the other hand, the constabulary officers were sent to the police or the military academies; and were repatriated back to their respective countries ahead of the civilian students.

While their lives as foreign students in wartime Japan was characterized by complicated, extraordinary situations and travails, in hindsight, the Nantoku would recall their experiences to be generally and notably positive. Perhaps subconsciously, they gradually inculcated some of the virtues and principles of Bushido (the warrior way), such as: discipline, self-control, politeness, honesty, honor, courage, benevolence and patriotism.

The Nantoku dispersed amidst the confusion as the war ended in 1945. Most returned to their respective countries although some chose to remain in Japan and work for the Allied occupation. As years passed, they pursued their careers and many rose to prominence in government, politics, the military, business and industry, the academe and the professions. They raised families and in their own way contributed to the postwar reconstruction of their countries.

Post War Philippines-Japan Relations

In the Philippines, dramatic events unfolded that charted paths for Philippines-Japan relations, among which were:

  • 1954 : Japanese government launches the Monbusho Scholarship Program
  • 1956 : Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Japan were normalized; War reparations agreement concluded
  • 1960 : Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation signed (but ratified only in 1973)
  • 1966 : On a state visit to Japan, President Ferdinand Marcos meets Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo
  • 1972 : Japanese Prime Minister TANAKA Kakuei visits the Philippines
  • 1975 : Japan overtakes the United States as the largest source of direct foreign investments in the Philippines
  • 1977 : On a state visit to the Philippines, Prime Minister FUKUDA Takeo proclaims the Fukuda Doctrine of “Heart-to-Heart” relations between Japan and Southeast Asia
  • 1986 : President Corazon C. Aquino visits Japan and meets Emperor Hirohito; she returned in 1989 for the funeral of Emperor Showa (Hirohito) and in 1990 for the enthronement of Emperor Heisei (Akihito)
  • 2001 : Japan becomes the largest source of Official Development Assistance to the Philippines

Meanwhile, Jose P. Laurel – President of the Japan-occupied Second Philippine Republic (1943-1945) – reemerged in the country’s political scene when he was overwhelmingly elected in 1951 to the Philippine Senate, a clear vindication from criticisms levied against him for his role as Philippine President during the war. He notably advocated democracy and economic nationalism, including what was then the audacious concept of promoting friendship and cooperation with Japan, whom most Filipinos then despised as a former enemy.

It is noteworthy that most if not all of the Nantoku who were in Japan during the war knew of and understood the sacrifices and courage of President Laurel and the officials who served with him during the perilous Laurel administration. They witnessed his patriotism, especially as the war was coming to an end when President Laurel, his family and a few members of his cabinet were exiled to Nara. They trailed the twists and turns of Jose P. Laurel’s life, as the brave Filipino patriot-leader during the most difficult chapter of Philippine history (1941-1945), the evacuation to Baguio and exile to Nara (1945), his 10-month incarceration in Japan after the war (1945-19465), the general amnesty that followed (1948), then later, his vindication as an overwhelmingly elected senator (1951) and highly revered statesman.

On November 5, 1959, the day he was scheduled to preside over the organizational meeting of The Philippines-Japan Society, Jose P. Laurel suffered a massive stroke, and passed away the following day. Some of the Nantoku were invited to the said meeting and were crestfallen at the sudden demise of a great Filipino leader.

The Philippines-Japan Society and the Nantoku

In 1966, Jose S. Laurel III, himself a former student in Japan (a graduate of the prestigious Imperial Military Academy 陸軍士官学校 1934-1937) was designated Philippine Ambassador to Japan. At the end of his tour of duty in 1971, he went on to establish The Philippines-Japan Society which his late father envisioned but did not live see 13 years earlier.

Under the visionary leadership of Ambassador Jose S. Laurel III – whom the Nantoku and all other former students in Japan called their Dai-Dai Senpai 大大先輩 – a network of associations affiliated with the Philippines-Japan Society, all dedicated to the promotion of strong, close and friendly relations with Japan, were subsequently established:

  • 1972 : The Philippines-Japan Society, Inc.
  • 1973 : The Philippines-Japan Economic Cooperation Committee, Inc.1
  • 1974 : The Philippines-Japan Friendship Foundation, Inc.
  • 1975 : The Philippines-Japan Ladies Association, Inc.
  • 1976 : The Philippine Federation of Japan Alumni, Inc.
  • 1977 : ASEAN Council of Japan Alumni
  • 1991 : Philippine Institute of Japanese Language & Culture Foundation, Inc.
  • 1997 : Nihongo Center Foundation, Inc

Alongside Ambassador Laurel in organizing and actively participating in the diverse activities of these civic associations were the Nantoku.

1 Originally named Philippine National Committee for Economic Cooperation with Japan, Inc.

Objectives

Undertaking this Project (Nantoku Program) is envisioned to establish the link between cultures and peoples in the spirit of the Fukuda Doctrine of Heart-to-Heart relationships between Japan and the peoples of Southeast Asia.

The Program hopes to nurture and continue the friendship and fraternity of the Nantoku among past, current and future generations of Ryugakusei.

It also hopes to provide a foundation for understanding, appreciating and promoting the Ryugaku experience, not only for Filipinos but for the rest of ASEAN Ryugakusei as well.

Activities

LECTURE SERIES

1st Topic:  Aspiring for Meiji Paradise: Philippine Revolutionary perceptions, and
Japanese Escape By: Dr. Karl Ian Uy Cheng Chua
September 28, 2024 (Saturday) at PJFF Multipurpose Hall from 3:00PM to 5:00PM

SAPILNIP Hosts First Lecture on “Aspiring for Meiji Paradise”

October 11, 2024by secretariat in NANTOKU tagged , , , , ,

        

   On September 28, 2024, the Samahan ng mga Pilipinong Nag-Aral at Nanirahan sa Nippon[1] (SAPILNIP) hosted its inaugural “Nantoku Lecture Series” at the Philippines-Japan Friendship Foundation in Makati City. The lecture was conducted by, Dr. Karl Ian Uy Cheng Chua, Ph.D. a recognized scholar on Asian and Japanese history who delivered a thought-provoking presentation entitled “Aspiring for Meiji Paradise: Philippine Revolutionary Perceptions and Japanese Escape – Turn of the 19th Century Filipino-Japanese Interactions.”

The ”Nantoku Lectures” is an initiative of SAPILNIP spearheaded by descendants of wartime Filipino pensionados to Japan (1943-1945) who were known as the Nanpo Tokubetsu Ryugakusei 南方特別留学生 translated as Special Students from the Southern Areas (“Nantoku” for short).  Todate, 45 descendants of the 50 original Filipino Nantoku have established contact with each other (both in person and online), sharing a deep-seated desire to exchange narratives of their fathers and hopefully gain understanding of the historical context, purpose and lifelong relevance of their education in Japan. Indeed, having founded both the Philippine Federation of Japan Alumni (PHILFEJA) and the ASEAN Council of Japan Alumni (ASCOJA), the lives and character of the Nantoku from the Philippines and other Japan-occupied territories in Southeast Asia must have been significantly shaped by their shared experience as foreign students in Japan, albeit under wartime conditions.

Framed along the concept of “Filipino-Japanese Interpersonal Encounters”, Dr. Chua’s lecture delved into major socioeconomic and geopolitical shifts resulting from the vaunted Meiji Restoration beginning 1868. He traced how the the Meiji era successfully cultivated an image of modernization and progress that appealed to many Filipinos, particularly those seeking refuge and opportunity during the turbulent period of their own struggle for independence from Spanish rule. Dr. Chua also challenged the romanticized image of Japan, unveiling how the so-called “monolithic Meiji myth” misled Filipinos at the turn of the century, with hopes of also achieving Japan’s prosperity and political alignment away from its colonial moorings. 

Dr. Chua further examined the ‘Myth of Modernity’ associated with Japan’s image as a beacon of progress during the Philippine struggle for independence, which juxtaposed the Japanese diaspora of that period. By placing these experiences within a broader historical context, Dr. Chua highlighted the global socio-political dynamics that shaped Filipino perceptions of Japan and Japanese migration to the Americas, Hawaii and the Philippines. He also drew parallels between the historical struggles of these early migrants and the ongoing challenges faced by contemporary overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Corollarily, Filipino revolutionaries and anti-West activists, overwhelmed and sidelined by the superior strengths of subsequent Spanish and American colonialists sought alliances among like-minded Japanese advocates which in hindsight proved illusionary. While there were not a few Japanese sympathizers to the Filipinos’ cause, official Japan could only extend nominal, covert support so as not to antagonize American and European powers in Asia at the turn of the 19th century.

Dr. Chua did not miss to highlight the extended stay in Japan of Dr. Jose P. Rizal who was enchanted by its beautiful land, culture, language and the traditional civility of its people.  He also did not forget the Philippine hero’s brief dalliance with Usui Seiko, whose grave is marked in a cemetery in Ikebukuro.

Dr. Chua also touched on the migration of Japanese laborers who helped construct the monumental Kennon Road from La Union to Baguio (1903-1905). Subsequently, those Japanese either migrated to the United States or Davao occasioned by the rise of a fledgling abaca industry.

Following Dr. Chua’s lecture, a Q&A session ensued where attendees engaged in lively discussions on the relevance of historical narratives in understanding contemporary Filipino- Japanese relations. Many expressed a keen interest in how these historical events continue to shape the experiences of Filipinos living and working in Japan and perhaps even in the future.

The Lecture on ‘Aspiring for Meiji Paradise’ kicks off a series of talks and lectures leading up to the 50th Anniversary of PHILFEJA and the 70th year of the Normalization of Philippines-Japan Diplomatic Relations, both of which will be commemorated in 2026. The lecture series aims to highlight significant historical narratives on interpersonal encounters of Filipinos and Japanese that can shed light of sundry snapshots of interesting events considered minor historical footnotes, but which can bring into sharper focus the deep roots of cordial relations between the two peoples. It is hoped that the lectures will contribute to the cultivation of deeper understanding and appreciation of sociopolitical dynamics that continue to shape bilateral relations today and beyond.

[1] Association of Filipinos Who Studied and Lived in Japan / 日本留学・在留フィリピン協会

Dr. Karl Ian Uy Cheng Chua is a professorial lecturer at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines. He teaches a wide range of topics on Japan and Asia at both the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University, where he served as Director of the Japanese Studies Program from 2013 to 2020. He obtained his AB Interdisciplinary Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University (2001), Masters in Japanese Studies (2005) and Ph.D. Social Sciences (2010) from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.

References:
Dr. Chua’s Paper
Presentation
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