Association of Mongolians in Japan NPO ~ To support Mongolians living in Japan and to promote cultural and business exchange between Mongolia and Japan ~

Many Mongolian wrestlers are doing really well in the Grand Sumo Tournament. Because we Japanese have seen them on TV and such, we feel close to the Mongolian people. There are approximately 13,000 people from Mongolia living in Japan (as of the fiscal year 2019), who have come to Japan for work, study, or as technical trainees. The Association of Mongolians in Japan was established in 2016 to support Mongolian people in Japan.

Mongolia and Japan - Very Different Living Environments

Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, is a city with tall buildings and apartment buildings. However, a 20 to 30 min drive will take you to a 360-degree expanse of prairie; people running around the plateau on horseback, and cows and sheep leisurely eating the grass. You can also see gers - traditional Mongolian mobile homes - popping up from time to time. People live comfortably in the wilderness, and that is the image we have of Mongolia. The country is large, about four times the size of Japan. However, the population is only about 3.36 million (estimated for 2020), which is about one thirty-eighth of Japan's population. It is said to be the country with the lowest population density in the world. Because of its continental climate, far from the sea, it is characterized by extremely dry weather throughout the year. There is not much rainfall. A Mongolian person who came to Tokyo during the rainy season once said, "It's really fun to walk around with an umbrella in the middle of a lot of rain." While there are areas where the temperature exceeds 40°C in summer, there are also areas where the temperature drops below -40°C in winter.

Yokozuna Hakuho: the honorary Chairman of the Association of Mongolians in Japan

The Association of Mongolians in Japan was established in 2016 and is now in its sixth year. Its honorary chairman is Yokozuna Hakuho. The office is decorated with a large photo of Hakuho. They say that it is a source of pride for the Mongolian people to see him play as a Yokozuna. The current chairman of the board is Mr.Ganbold Baljinnyam. He is known as Baljika. "There are about 7,000 Mongolians in Tokyo. We provide information on daily life, hold consultation meetings, and conduct cultural and business exchanges between Japan and Mongolia. We currently have about 100 members, but there are many more people who receive our information," says Baljika. The activities of the association are wide-ranging, from organizing Japanese speech contests to donating face masks and disinfectant to Mongolia. Baljika's father is a famous Khoomii (*) singer who is well known in Mongolia. Baljika himself sings Khoomii. He is also a professional Morin Khuur (**) player as well as a singer. He is currently working as a musician in Japan, and also serves as the Chairman of the Association of Mongolians in Japan.

(*) Khoomii: Traditional Mongolian singing style
(**) Morin Khuur: Mongolian folk instrument

Weekly News Feed on YouTube

This year, the Association of Mongolians in Japan has started to send out two new types of information. One is AMJ News (broken link), which started in February and is distributed on YouTube. Once a week, they introduce the Japanese news of the week in Mongolian. "The news we usually see is difficult to understand, so translating it into Mongolian makes it easier for us to reach them. There are about 3,000 people who visit our site. About 60% of them are Mongolians living in Japan, and about 40% are people who are interested in Japan," says Baljika. There are four members on the news staff, and Gerlee is one of them. "Everyone decides together which news item to cover, and then we make a draft and record it. All the staff are volunteers. Some of us have jobs and some are students, so we get together on weekends to produce programs." Their clothes are also very stylish, as if they were TV newscasters. It is so well produced that you would think it was a news program aired in Mongolia. The topics they often cover in the news are; Japanese rules, education, hospital information, visas and laws. They provide information to help the newcomers to Japan get used to the country quickly. Of course, they also cover Sumo as well.

In the podcast, people who have experienced the Japanese Dream talk about it.

Information that cannot be included in AMJ News, is available in podcasts. While the news is about 10 to 20 minutes long, the podcasts are mostly interviews that last about an hour. They are still looking for a program plan, but currently they are inviting Mongolians who have achieved the Japanese Dream, and interviewing them about various stories. So far, there have been successful classical ballet performers, and a person who became a doctor in Japan. "When the pioneers tell us how they succeeded in Japan (what they learned, and how they did it) it inspires those who follow. It also gives them a hint of where to go next," says Gerlee. There are other members who are in charge of the podcasts, and those podcasts are sent out about once every three weeks. A message from an experienced Mongolian to a newcomer. There is a hot exchange going on in Japan. The podcast is also all in Mongolian, so if you don't know Mongolian, it is very unfortunate that you can't understand what the program is about even if you watch it.

Mongolian Wrestling is a Familiar Game for Children

"I think Japan is a safe country, and with lots of opportunities for those who work hard," says Baljika. The similarity between Mongolians and Japanese is that they are gentle, and the difference is that, "Mongolians are not good at being punctual," he laughs. Gerlee says, "I think Japanese people are very serious. In Mongolia, there is no such thing as a part-time job for high school students. Japanese people work very hard. This is something that Mongolians should try to emulate. I've heard that you never forget what you were taught as a child." By the way, why are Mongolians so successful in Japanese sumo? "We have sumo in Mongolia, as well. It is originally a boys' game. It's more of a game than a sport, played by children. Maybe it's because it's fun, you get better and better," Chuugii told us.

*This article is based on information available at the time of the interview. For the latest information, please contact the organization directly.