ABSTRACT
As first-generation Zainichi Koreans grew older and began needing increased care, the issue of how to provide this care became a main topic of conversation for many second-generation women in the ethnic community. Because most of the first generation were unable to read or write in either Japanese or Korean, many were unaware of the numerous social benefits they were entitled to as permanent residents of Japan. And various language, culture, and lifestyle barriers made benefiting from Japan's Long-Term Care Insurance System difficult for them. This chapter describes how second-generation women from the Zainichi political organizations Ch'ongryŏn and Mindan and from various faith-based organizations mobilized the ethnic community on behalf of the elderly to establish private sector nonprofit care facilities that could fulfill the specific needs of Zainichi Korean seniors. Second-generation women stood at the forefront in bringing the Zainichi community together for this common cause, petitioning the Japanese government to recognize the first generation's specific cultural needs that could not be met via a uniform Japanese system. Second-generation women also took the lead in requesting monthly financial aid for the first generation from local governments, particularly for women, who were ineligible for social pension. This tatakai (battle), as many have called it, was to ensure that the first generation could age with dignity in Japan. But even more, the petition's success testified to the women's political power and brought them recognition within their community. Zainichi women, once relegated to the private sphere as merely supportive wives and mothers in male-centered ethnic organizations, were now positioning themselves in the public sphere as key players in their own legitimate political movement.
