Hello, I'm Catherine Anaya, and welcome to Horizonte.

Arizona knows a thing or two about borderlands, but what happens when you take that conversation thousands of miles away to Japan?

ASU Cronkite school students recently did just that, exploring how immigration, identity and culture shaped communities on the other side of the world and finding connections that may be closer to home than you might think.

Here to share that experience are ASU professor and journalist Rodrigo Cervantes, and ASU journalism student Natalia Rodriguez, who participated in the project.

Welcome to Horizonte.

I appreciate you both joining me.

Thank you for having us.

So let's talk about this project and this experience that you both experienced together.

This project, professor has taken students for the last 15 years to traditional borderland regions.

What was it about Tokyo this year and taking them there to exposing them to another way of looking at Borderlands?

Yes Catherine.

So, this is the first time that we traveled to Asia, and we also traveled to a very a typical place for borders.

We tend to think of borders as this imaginary dotted line that divides countries, right?

Particularly here in Arizona, being so close to Mexico, that's, let's say, the image in general that we all get.

But borders are more complicated.

And as time goes by, they get even way more complicated.

We're not talking only about these physical border anymore, geographic borders.

But there are also technological borders.

And in the case of Japan, for example, being a country that's an archipelago that is separated by water from other nations, it gives also like a completely different perspective.

Now, that being said, there are also many issues that regardless of the geography of the country or the city, they're going to be shared with other parts of the world, including what we witnessed right here in the Arizona-Mexico border, for example.

Well, let's talk more about that, because I think what's fascinating about it is the students were able to report on stories relating to immigration communities, the issues of identity, acceptance and discrimination.

What did their reporting reveal about the realities of immigration that exists in Japan?

Yeah, part of the plan for the trip is precisely to always connect the issues that they witness in a foreign land, and contrast it with what we see here in the United States.

Particularly with immigration, you will discover that there are strong connections to what we're witnessing in the United States.

There is a rising far right with a very strong posture against certain groups of immigrants, particularly undocumented immigrants, for example.

There are also some cases of xenophobia to also very specific communities.

And at the same time, there are many rules and laws changing regarding immigration.

This mirrors not only to what we are witnessing here in the United States, but it's a global phenomenon.

And I think that the the work that the students did, like Natalia's story, for exmaple, truly reveals the complexity of this topic.

And at the same time, the human side of it.

I want to explore that story a little more, Natalia, because it's so well done and you just put so much heart and soul into it.

As you read it As you read it, you can tell.

You met a baker who spends his time helping immigrants in detention and supervising people released under Japan's alternative to detention system.

What struck you most about this story?

What struck me most about him specifically was how the decision of helping refugees and the people he's basically in watch of isn't really even a decision for him.

It's just, why wouldn't I do it?

I have the resources, I have the time, I have the ability.

It's not even a question.

And he really puts so much time and energy into that.

And he doesn't even see himself as like, wow, I'm doing this amazing thing.

It's just like, yeah, why?

Why wouldn't you be doing this?

Because he's strictly a volunteer.

He's not paid for any of this that he does.

Yeah.

So tell me a little bit about, because I know you spoke to people who lived in Japan for decades, but still faced this threat of deportation.

What did you learn from hearing their stories firsthand, that maybe you would not have understood being this far away?

The ability to talk to them in person and really have deeper connections than, conversations than maybe you could in Zoom or a phone call, is you really got to see exactly like Professor Cervantes said is the complexities and like how similar things are to the immigration struggles and systems challenges that people are facing here and understand that, like they're applied in the exact same way, they have the same ramifications even though they look different.

So I think that going there, talking to people, having these conversations in person and getting vulnerable was definitely like invaluable.

Well, as you mentioned, professor, I think those of us here in Arizona, we tend to think about immigration in terms of the lens of the US Mexico border.

But as you mentioned, you know, it goes far beyond that.

We can learn by looking at the immigration experience in countries very different from our history, from our culture, and from our own immigration system.

Right?

That's why this trip is so important for these students.

Correct.

It is, it is a way to expose our students who are present and future journalists to the reality of our planet, and the importance of reporting about what's happening in other parts of the world.

Unfortunately, sometimes we become uber isolated.

We get way too focused on the issues and problems that are very close to our communities.

But at the same time, it is very important to see what's happening in the rest of the world and not only contrast the experiences of other people in other parts of the world, but realizing how connected we are.

More so given the current situation that we're facing in the world.

I think with so many things changing, with so debates into politics, the environment, the economy, and so on and so forth.

So the entire experience as a whole is precisely to do that, right, like connect those realities and at the same time reflect on the history of those places and how that history is also connected to ours.

Something that these journalists were able to experience firsthand.

One of the striking things about your reporting, Natalia, is how some of the challenges that you discovered sounds so familiar to what we're experiencing here at home.

What did you see that appeared to be parallel to the experiences that we are experiencing here with the immigrants in Japan and the communities here at home.

What kind of parallels did you see?

I think in terms of systemic difficulties, challenges, I think what I saw the most parallelisms between was how the government intentionally, unintentionally, adds layers and structures and system processes that make it more difficult for immigrants, refugees, whatever, the case is, to achieve the goal they're looking for.

So that was the systemic thing I was noticing.

But in terms of, you know, a person's personal story, the biggest comparison was, you know, the pain, the fear, the loss of their life, frankly, that you experience that you're seeing here.

Same thing goes there.

I mean, one of the the refugees I talked to hadn't seen his family since he was 18, you know, so he's missed out on his younger sisters growing up.

He missed his father's death.

He missed his mother's birthdays.

And that's something that obviously will never be repaired.

And I think that was the biggest thing I was seeing with, you know stories I've seen here in Arizona.

Thank you for sharing that.

That's so important to understand.

You know, when you are studying communities in another land.

Professor, the students looked at everything from immigration detention and visa policies to business and political movements.

What connections did you see between their seemingly different stories?

Well, the connection is always based on the interest of the audience, right?

Which kind of stories could be appealing for the audience and at the same time, which kind of stories are also allowing us to learn more about our world and how we're interconnected?

In the specific case of Japan, something that is also very important to to highlight is the relationship that it has with the United States, which has evolved and changed ever since World War II.

Right?

Japan, right after the war, becomes strongly influenced by the United States.

Its politics are pretty much determined by what the allies decide after the war.

And this relationship, as it evolves, has also created a very strong synergies and at the same time, competition in some cases.

Right?

So in the case of politics, for example, there is a strong influence of American politics into what's happening in Japan, specifically from conservative groups in the United States, that are influencing the ideologies in Japan.

On an economic level, one of our students, for example, discover the connection between what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz and the dependance that Japan may have on on the oil and gas, but also how partnering with the United States is transforming precisely that dynamic.

And, in general, like you see how the relationship evolves, but also there is this historic connection at the same time.

But then you also have the opportunity to just like report, like Natalia was saying, of human beings, of individuals, at the end of the day, we are all the same and we all face like similar concerns, but also similar hopes, right?

There was a story, for example, one of our student followed the case of families who want to adopt children in Japan, but they are LGBTQ couples.

And for them, it's basically forbidden in Japan.

So they have to look for ways in order to build a family.

And again, there is a connection with the United States and how they make it happen, right?

So stories that have like a human component were very important, but also, all of them.

I think that the connecting points are stories are relevant for our reality and to understand how our world works.

Absolutely.

Was there one moment or conversation, Natalia, that stays with you even after you left?

Yeah, I'd say the conversation with the refugee in my story, whose name we use, Carlos.

That is something that completely changed how I view reporting, how I view interviewing, and also how I view immigration.

I mean, we walked around his hometown for, I think, for hours, and he shared some deeply personal, traumatic but also lighthearted stuff.

I got to know him very well, and I really formed a connection with him as more than just a source for this story.

And he's someone I deeply care about and I can still talk to to this day.

And I check up on him and see how he's doing and that that conversation, meeting him had so many implications in my life.

That's beautiful.

And it certainly has changed the way you approach journalism, right?

It's wonderful to see.

It's wonderful to hear and absolutely, wonderfully read.

And I want to remind people that we website that they can go to, that we're going to put on the screen to read the student's reporting, because it is so fascinating, and you've all done such a great job.

So thank you for sharing this experience with us.

And thank you for giving the students this opportunity.

It's incredible.

You know, I'm very thankful with my students.

They did a wonderful job.

I really invite all your audience to enjoy their work.

They did fantastic, phenomenal coverage, very professional, great photography, great stories, great videos, things to talk about.

If you need topics on Thanksgiving, just go to our website, read our stories and talk about them with your families.

Good point.

And we as readers will learn a lot for sure.

Thank you so much.

And we will continue having conversations like these because they're important and they matter to you.

I'm Catherine Anaya, thanks for watching.