[This is a developing story.]
Over the past few weeks, there has been an increase in awareness surrounding Miwa, a trans Filipina woman who was detained in the Shinagawa Immigration Center for 15 months, after overstaying her tourist visa. If her imprisonment wasn’t cruel enough, the 22-hour stay in her isolation cell was a waking nightmare.
Miwa‘s cell only allowed for a negligible amount of sitting space and a grounded toilet that could only be flushed from the outside. To make matters worse, she was only allowed to be outside two hours of the day. For comparison, her seemingly cisgender peers were allowed six hours of free time.
On top of the mistreatment and sexual abuse she experienced at the detention center, Miwa was also denied access to her hormone replacement therapy, which can cause devastating adverse effects from withdrawal.
Coming to Japan
She originally moved to Japan on the aforementioned tourist visa to assist her ailing father, who she was close to. At the time, she was unaware that she could get a long-term visa as his relative. He has since passed away. Not wanting to return to the Philippines out of fear for her safety, Miwa overstayed her visa and was detained shortly afterward.
To make matters worse, she was only allowed to be outside two hours of the day. For comparison, her seemingly cisgender peers were allowed six hours of free time. Click To TweetDuring and after her imprisonment, Miwa has started a GoFundMe to cover costs of treatment for her mental health and hormone replacement therapy. Unfortunately, this mistreatment is par for the course when it comes to immigration detention in Japan. Even outside of detention centers, public awareness of LGBT issues is scarce, as with the case of a TV station outing a transgender woman.
She was kind enough to allow for a short interview conducted via Twitter Direct Message. The interview has been edited for length and readability.
Interview:
Unseen Japan (UJ): My first question is, how are you doing right now?
Miwa (PT): Right now, I’m currently living in Chiba. I’m having mental illness from the trauma called OCD [Obsessive Compulsive Disorder] and PTSD [Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder].
UJ: How has the mental illness affected your life?
Miwa: I’m afraid [of] going outside. I’m afraid that if I go out bad things may happen.
UJ: Did you enjoy going outside beforehand? If so, what did you like to do?
Miwa: Yes, I am a happy person. I always love going outside and [having] fun.
UJ: Yeah, I noticed the picture of you in the kimono at the shrine, they were very pretty. Were you doing some sightseeing then?
Miwa: Yes, I do. I love mountain hiking, shopping, and eating at restaurants.
UJ: What’s your favorite food?
Miwa: I usually eat Asian food. I love different countries’ food.
UJ: I have one more question, if that’s OK. I’ve read other interviews you’ve done about your experience in detention, so I won’t ask you to recount those memories, but I would like to know what your hopes for the future [are] after you receive funding for your treatment. Do you plan to seek justice from Tokyo Immigration for their mistreatment of you? Or do you have different plans?
Miwa: Right now, what I want is equal rights for LGBT people inside. Especially transgender women. They should know how to deal with trans women–give them equal rights as heterosexuals have. Being in isolation for 22 hours a day in a small cell is torture. And I don’t want that to happen to other trans women in the facility. I believe we should be [treated] as equal no matter what our gender preferences is.
UJ: Absolutely, I agree. Thank you for your time, Miwa.
Miwa: Thank you. Lovelots!
-Interview with Miwa, conducted via Twitter DM on March 11, 2021
Again, Miwa’s GoFundMe is for her mental health and hormone therapy treatment. As of March 11th, she is 52% towards her goal of $5000. Please share and donate if you can.
