Solving Problems Foreigners Face, and His First Full-Time Position
Mr. Pacheco’s main role is as a real estate agent. The tone of his voice as he calmly speaks Japanese is reassuring. “There are landlords that didn’t get a good impression of foreign tenants in the past because of cultural differences. There are also some people who have never had any contact with foreigners and just assume that foreigners are hard to deal with, even though they haven’t experienced it themselves. Those landlords also feel troubled when dealing with foreign tenants that were born and raised in Japan as well. I want to support communication between landlords and foreign tenants.”
Mr. Pacheco had these thoughts even before he started his current job at the real estate agency. In fact, he wished to work in real estate because he had felt this way. It all started approximately one year ago when Mr. Pacheco was still working as a multilingual consultant at the Hamamatsu Intercultural Center. He offered support to foreign residents living in Hamamatsu using Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese. In one of those consultations, there was a case where a foreign resident couldn’t rent an apartment “because they were a foreigner” which drew his interest. In Japan, it is difficult to find a full-time job without first having a fixed address. There were people just like himself who have come to Hamamatsu from their home countries looking for work, but they couldn’t even get a job interview. However, at that time, there was nothing that Mr. Pacheco could do to help. It was at that time he heard there was a job opening at Maruhachi Asset Management Co. Ltd. from the Hamamatsu Employment Support Desk for Foreigners at the Intercultural Center. It is the first time Mr. Pacheco has held a full-time position at a Japanese company. While he felt some unease in trying something new, he cleared the company entrance exams and interviews. Now he is a full-time employee there and is working to solve problems foreigners face in finding a place to live. “I visit properties together with prospective foreign tenants. During the visits, I explain the rules and customs of Japan, and mediate between the tenant and the landlord on whether they will keep the rules, accept the cultural differences of the tenants etc. all the way to filing an application for the property. I then pass on the details to our property management division so that the landlord can feel at reassured when renting out their apartments. Currently 50% of Landlords, out of the 13,000 rooms that we manage, will accept foreign tenants.”
A Childhood between Japan and Peru, The Fond Memories with His Mother
Mr. Pacheco was born in Arequipa, Peru. With a population of approximately 900,000 people, Arequipa is a bigger city than Hamamatsu. He first came to Japan when he was 8 years old. He and his siblings came to Ryuyo in Iwata City together with their parents who were looking for work. He was the first foreigner at Ryuyo Elementary School. “My homeroom teacher was very kind and enthusiastic. With a Spanish dictionary in hand, she tutored me. It was thanks to her that I was able to speak Japanese in about half a year.”
However, due to his mother’s illness he had to move back to Peru with his mother and younger brother in his 2nd year of Junior high school. “I liked living in Japan, but when I was in Junior high, I started to become more conscious of the difference in my appearance compared to others. So, when I went back to Peru, honestly I remember feeling relived that I wasn’t much different in appearance to the people around me.”
He graduated High school and majored in Business Management in University. He became a bank clerk after graduation and everything was smooth sailing. One day, Mr. Pacheco was gravely injured in a bike accident which took him a total of 6 months to recover from. It was during his rehabilitation that he made his decision. “I will take my second chance at life in Japan.”
His Desire to Grow and the Opportunity He Gained at the Intercultural Center
Mr. Pacheco returned to Japan with hopes and dreams. He had carved out a career as a bank clerk back in Peru, but when he came to Japan he worked as a dispatch worker in a factory. Mr. Pacheco was able to relearn Japanese in roughly 7 months through T.V., books, and, having conversations with his friends. He was living in Hamamatsu at the time because his older brother lived here, but he moved to Mie to live with his wife’s family after they got married. His family had grown bigger and he felt happy, but something was missing. “As a foreigner, I won’t be able to grow here…” he thought, so he decided to return to Hamamatsu.
In Hamamatsu, he worked in a factory again, but the Coronavirus started to spread and work became unavailable. This was when he saw that the Hamamatsu Intercultural Center was looking for people for 1 year contracts. He started work there and through the introduction of the Hamamatsu Employment Support Desk for Foreigners he found his current job. “Hamamatsu City gave me an opportunity. It is my goal to create an “International Division” in this company. I want to increase the staff, and become a bridge between foreign residents and landlords.” Mr. Pacheco has two daughters, one is in their 2nd year of elementary school and the other is 2 years old. He dreams of returning back to Peru together with his wife when his children come of age, but until then, Mr. Pacheco’s work continues.
Mr. Reysser Pacheco
From Arequipa, Peru.
He loves Japan’s temples and shrines.
On his days off, he often goes outdoors with his family. His wife is Japanese so after getting married he has started to eat more Japanese food. He occasionally craves Peruvian food.
His hobby is video editing.“My goal for this year is to get healthier so I think I’ll start dieting!”