Philippine Embassy Successfully Conducts Consular Outreach Mission in Okinawa
The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, together with partner agencies and Filipino volunteers, successfully conducted a consular outreach mission in Okinawa on 25–26 October 2025 at the Vessel Campana Hotel in Mihama, Chatan, providing 177 consular services to the Filipino community.
TOKYO, 31 October 2025 – The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo successfully conducted a two-day consular outreach mission in Okinawa on 25–26 October 2025 at the Vessel Campana Hotel in Mihama, Chatan. The initiative brought essential government services closer to Filipinos residing in the prefecture.
The Embassy provided 177 individual services to clients, including passport applications and renewals, notarial services, civil registry transactions, and other consular assistance.
Consul Robert D. Quintin led the mission, working alongside the Migrant Workers Office-Tokyo (MWO-Tokyo) team headed by Labor Attaché Ramon Lamberto C. Pastrana. The MWO-Tokyo team was able to cater to eighty-six (86) clients for labor issues and contract verification, OWWA membership, and other inquiries, and visited Filipino worksites such as schools and bases.
Tourism Attaché Niel P. Ballesteros of Department of Tourism-Tokyo and Agriculture Attaché Maria Alilia G. Maghirang of Department of Agriculture-Tokyo also joined the mission, conducting sales calls and stakeholder meetings to promote Philippine tourism and agricultural trade.
More than 170 individual services were extended to Filipinos in Okinawa during the Consular Outreach Mission conducted by the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo on 25-26 October 2025.
The outreach was further supported by dedicated Filipino volunteers in Okinawa, including teachers and members of the Mabuhay Filipino Dance Troupe.
A town hall meeting was held at the hotel lounge, where the Embassy team engaged with community members on topics such as labor contracts, dual citizenship, agri-business investment opportunities, and the possibility of direct flights between the Philippines and Okinawa. The Embassy team took the opportunity to invite members of the community to organize activities in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the normalization of Philippines-Japan relations in 2026.
The Embassy team also met with Col. Marc T. Walker, USMC, Camp Commander for Camps Foster and Lester, who expressed his commitment to work with the Embassy in addressing concerns of Filipinos within U.S. bases and to support future Embassy initiatives in Okinawa.
The Embassy consular outreach team from the Consular Section, MWO-Tokyo, DOT Tokyo, and DA-Tokyo met with Col. Marc T. Walker, USMC (center) on the sidelines of the outreach mission in Okinawa on 25-26 October 2025.
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano underscored the importance of the mission, stating, “Our kababayans in Okinawa are an important part of our Filipino community in Japan. Through this outreach, we are not only able to bring essential services closer to them, but also strengthen our ties and reaffirm our commitment to their welfare. We are grateful for the support of our partners and the active participation of our community members.”
There are an estimated 2,700 Filipinos in Okinawa.
