The air was filled with hope and warmth as the five families from Myanmar who are in Japan on the third-country resettlement program met with visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees chief Antonio Guterres last month in Tokyo.
"This is the first group that resettles in Japan . . . and we all want your integration in Japanese society to be a success," Guterres told the families. "And when I look at your children, I hope that they will become doctors or engineers, that they can really have a wonderful future in this country."
Guterres, who had been a strong advocate for Japan to start the resettlement program, was in Tokyo last month for the first time since the families arrived from Thailand in September and October.