A number of people who have come to Australia on a woking holiday visa are experiencing difficulties in finding work.
In mid-May, about 200 people lined up at a park in Brisbane for free food distribution organized by a local volunteer group, Community Friends.
The target for food distribution is the homeless and people with disabilities, but recently there has been an increase in the number of foreigners staying in the country (on working holiday visas).
Jimmy Faham, 79, who is in charge, says that their are people from South America, China, France and Italy. Recently, the number of Japanese has increased to about 30% of the total.
A man in his 20’s from Saitama Prefecture said, “I’m sure that I’m in need, but I’m not the target of the distribution. I feel sorry for them, but I’m grateful.”
There were also Japanese people helping the group’s activities in the park. A university student from Chiba Prefecture said “The food distribution has spread by word of mouth and the number of Japanese in increasing rapidly.” The woman was one of those who travelled on a working holiday visa and struggled to find work. She added “when I didn’t have enough money to live on, they helped me. I want to return the favor.”
The free food is provided by the organization, which receives supplies of products that are about to expire from nearby supermarkets, and also food bought on their own if there isn’t enough.
Organizer Jimmy says “I want to help young people as much as I can. I hope that when they return to their home countries, they would remember what they received here and be kind to foreigners in the same way.”
According to the Japan Working Holiday Association, since around 2023, there has been an increase in the number of people asking for advice on how to find work after traveling overseas.
