Staff writer
Standing in a quiet neighborhood in Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, a complex of five plain, white buildings now awaits demolition.
Until Tuesday, they made up the Yamato Resettlement Promotion Center, which for over 18 years helped newly arrived refugees from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. "In my eyes, the center symbolized the internationalization process of this nation," said Kenzo Naito, 66, as he observed the old pictures chronologically displayed to depict the center's memories after its closing ceremony last week.