A young Japanese-Brazilian is carving out a new life for herself in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, by aiding foreign students at a public junior high school.
Monica Matsuda, 26, sees her old self in students who are struggling in class and ready to throw in the towel, so she encourages them not to give up because "this education will help them achieve whatever goals they set in the future."
There are 326 students at Komei Junior High School, where she works, and about 10 percent are foreigners, mostly from Brazil or the Philippines.