CHECK IT OUT! APASWE : No. 25 (2017)

World Social Work Day 2017
WSWD2017 EVENT IN TOKYO.

Please write title of Event or content of speech ?
The Japanese Coordinating Body (JCB) for IFSW Membership organized a World Social Work Day symposium on March 20th (Mon), a national holiday in the country (namely Spring Equinox Day). JCB is an umbrella organization for the following four professional associations: the Japanese Association of Social Workers (JASW), the Japanese Association of Certified Social Workers (JACSW), the Japanese Association of Social Workers in Health Services (JASWHS), and the Japanese Association of Psychiatric Social Workers (JAPSW). Since Japan has a National Social Worker Day (celebrated every year in July at the national holiday of the Day of the Sea), this was the first time for major WSWD celebrations in Tokyo.

The opening address was delivered my Ms. Yumiko Hayasaka (President of JASWHS). The main point expressed was about ????? It was followed by reports from two joint JCB committees, one for international affairs and one on Hansen’s disease. The former was presented by Ms. Michiko Hirata of JACSW (also Treasurer of IFSW-AP) and focused on regional workshops co-organized by IFSW-AP and co-sponsored by the Japanese Center for Social Welfare Promotion and National Examination via JCB (Indonesia and the Philippines in FY2015/16, India and Malaysia in FY2016/17; Nepal and Vietnam scheduled for FY2017/18). In the latter report, Mr. Naoto Kita

(Standing Director, JAPSW) acknowledged how the social work profession in Japan historically collaborated with segregation and detention policies and explained about current JCB services for Hansen’s disease patients. The event was continued by a speech given by Mr. Ken Hongo from the Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare’s Social Welfare Bureau about recent developments in national policy, especially the community-based integrated care system. VERY GOOD POINT The last session was a panel discussion between the JCB member organizations coordinated by Mr. Masakazu Shirasawa (Representative of the Research Council of Social Care Service Practitioners). The four panelists were JASW President Mr. Tamio Okamoto, JACSW President Mr. Katsuhide Kamakura, JASWHS President Ms. Yumiko Hayasaka, and JAPSW President Ms. Kazue Kashiwagi.

This WSWD celebration also served as an important kickoff event, since JCB will be re-organized this April under a new name, specifically the Japanese Federation of Social Workers (JFSW). This decision by the four practitioners’ organizations was influenced by the merger of the three educational organizations in social work (the Japanese Association of Schools of Social Work, the Japanese Association of Schools of Certified Social Worker, and the Japanese Association of Schools of Certified Psychiatric Social Worker) into one, the Japanese Association of Social Work Education (JASWE). The newly renamed JFSW is expected to organize more joint events and engage in more joint projects between its four member organizations in the future.

(This article is originally released on Facebook dated 21st March 2017 http://ifsw.org/ifsw-asia-pacific/news-and-activities/, and cited under the permission of author and IFSW-AP.)