Interview with Ms. L

"I first came to Japan in high school, when my mother remarried and moved here. I hadn’t graduated yet, so I followed her and ended up staying. At the beginning, I studied Japanese for two years, then went on to university.

Life went on—I finished university, got married, had children, and started working. That’s basically how I’ve been living here ever since.

The main reason I stayed in Japan was family. Back then, as a girl in high school, I was closest to my mother, and she was here. With my family rooted here, it just felt natural to remain as well. Honestly, I didn’t think too much about it at the time—I simply stayed, following my mother’s path."