Recent events have brought the Day Laborers living in Osaka’s Nishinari Ward to the forefront of our thinking.

Many Kansai residents, Japanese and foreigner alike, have described the people of Kamagasaki to me using adjectives such as violent, dangerous, lazy and weak-hearted.

Wanting to gain a deeper understanding of these people, I have visited Kamagasaki several times.

I’ve talked with them on their streets, eaten with them in their restaurants and slept on a piece of cardboard in the park among them.

What I learned really surprised me.

They were really kind to me. They shared what little they had with me. They are more outgoing than most Japanese, and they are kind, considerate, witty and personable.

They work long, hard days doing heavy, dangerous construction work six and seven days a week, thereby making a big contribution to the betterment of Japan.

Like us, they experience the pains of modern society as well: isolation, loneliness and fear. They shed tears. Like many salaried workers, they get drunk sometimes.

Perhaps recent events have finally brought to the surface the feelings they have regarding the police, underworld groups and the way they are thought of as worthless cattle.

If we had a better understanding of the people of Kamagasaki, perhaps our fears would go away, and we could treat them as equals in the human race.