This research note illuminates the panel organized by the Special Thematic Session for Community Relations at the 2023 Annual Conference of the Japan Association for Migration Policy Studies (JAMPS) held at Meiji University on Sunday, May 28, 2023. The panel dealt with the structural change in society under COVID-19, where social welfare councils and social workers have emerged as "new" actors in supporting foreign residents in Japan. Simultaneously, several international NGOs had begun to support foreigners in Japan due to the restrictions on cross-border movement and the SDGs' commitment to mitigate inequality within the country. The COVID-19 disaster has triggered the convergence of these two actors to collaborate in dealing with foreigners in great need but remained largely invisible within the society.
The collaboration between Toshima Ward Residents Council of Social Welfare and an international NGO Shanti Volunteer Association was highlighted as a case study. The community social workers of Toshima Ward Residents Council worked with Shanti Volunteer Association, which played a pivotal role in organizing the network of experts, including multi-lingual coordinators and lawyers, to provide comprehensive support to improve the situation of foreigners in Toshima Ward, Tokyo. The next step is to transform and institutionalize the current social work to incorporate foreign residents into Japan's social work theory and practice.
