A 90-year-old woman born in the Philippines and of Japanese descent is preparing to visit Okinawa Prefecture by the end of this year to reconnect with family and honor her late father. Adelaida Kakazu, a second-generation Japanese individual separated from her Okinawan father after World War II, has been working with a support group to locate relatives in Japan but has encountered challenges in doing so.

Kakazu was born to Noboru Kakazu, originally from Okinawa, and a Filipino mother. Noboru was repatriated to Japan with his eldest son, Shoichi, following the conclusion of World War II in 1945, passing away six years later in 1951. Although Shoichi returned to the Philippines in the 1970s, contact with their Okinawan relatives had been lost by the time of his death in 1992.

The search for relatives gained new momentum in June of last year when Kakazu’s grandchild reached out to the Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center, an organization assisting people of Japanese descent who remained in the Philippines after the war. Inspired by a television program on individuals with similar backgrounds, the grandchild sought assistance in tracing the family history.

Subsequent investigation uncovered official documents, including the marriage records of Kakazu’s parents. In March of this year, a Japanese court approved the restoration of Adelaida Kakazu’s Japanese nationality, enabling her to make the planned visit. During the search, it was confirmed that Noboru Kakazu’s registered domicile was in Itoman, a city in Okinawa, and that he had an older brother named Naoshi, who is Kakazu’s uncle. The search also revealed that her uncle had at least two children, but no contact has been established with these relatives to date.

Kakazu has expressed a desire to thank those who cared for her father and to pay respects at his grave. Both she and the Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center have appealed for public assistance in locating and reconnecting with her extended family members in Japan. The visit and potential reunion hold significant emotional importance for Kakazu as she seeks to bridge a longstanding family separation caused by the upheavals of war.