Reflections on the Corona Pandemic — The Thoughts of Dr. Ken Takenaga, a Refugee Who Fled His Homeland

More than 1,000 refugees from Ukraine are now beginning new lives in Japan. Yet this is not the first time Japan has welcomed people fleeing turmoil in their homelands. By 2005, more than 11,000 “Indochinese refugees” had already been granted resettlement here. Among them was Dr. Ken Takenaga (Vũ Đăng Khôi / 武永 賢), originally from southern Vietnam. Dr. Takenaga arrived in Japan in 1982, went on to study medicine, and today serves as the director of a clinic in Shinjuku Ward. The clinic accepts every patient who comes through its doors — insured or not — and a large share of those Dr. Takenaga has cared for are people of foreign background.

Speaking about how the Corona pandemic has hit the most vulnerable members of society the hardest, and about facing again and again the grief and harsh experiences of his patients while striving to fulfill his calling as a doctor, Dr. Takenaga shared his reflections in the 2021 issue of “Ai” — the annual newsletter of the Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian People — published in October of that same year.

The full article is available below for our readers.