2025/09/01 14:18
Hello, my name is Yuki van Herk, and I run Mom & Dad Japan. I moved to Kyoto in 2022 with my Dutch husband, and we had our first child the following year.
During my pregnancy, I struggled with morning sickness while researching hospitals and delivery options etc.
Most information was only in Japanese, making it hard to explain things to my husband. Despite his efforts, the language barrier was a challenge.
I realized many multicultural families face the same difficulties. That’s why I started this project - to share real voices and experiences gathered through workshops and surveys. I hope we can grow this project together!
\ Go Support /
In recent years, the number of foreign residents in Japan has rapidly increased, nearly doubling from 2.2 million to over 3.7 million between 2015 and 2024. (As of 2024)
At the end of 2024, the number of foreign residents reached a record high of 3,768,977.
(Source: Ministry of Justice)
One of the main areas we focus on is foreign families who are building homes and settling into local communities in Japan. These include international couples raising children in Japan, foreigners working at universities or companies, and families who have settled in Japan after studying or starting businesses.
Many of them are hopeful about life in Japan and are trying to engage with their local communities.
However, many voices have been heard through workshops and surveys, expressing frustration with finding, reading, and understanding the necessary information for pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, and other procedures.
Although some municipalities, hospitals, and NGOs offer multilingual pamphlets and PDF materials, there are still issues such as:
- Information being hard to find or scattered across different sources
- Poor readability on smartphones
- Translations lacking cultural sensitivity, making them difficult to understand
\ Go Support /
▶︎Crowdfunding Story Part.2: What We Create
