Italy: The story of a young man stranded in Japan

Rome: An Italian man who visited Japan, the birthplace of anime, in February 2020 as a high school graduation gift lost his flight home in April that year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With only his travel gear and no money in his pocket, he was unable to return home. One year and nine months later, a Mainichi Shimbun reporter traced the steps of the 21-year-old struggling in an unfamiliar land.

At the end of February 2020, a then 19-year-old Leo Okuda Tomiselli came to Japan with a high school friend who was fascinated by Japanese culture. They planned to sightsee for about a month. At the time, no one around him in his small town in Italy had the coronavirus.

But while he was visiting Tokyo tourist spots including Akihabara and staying at his host family’s home in the city of Ageo in neighboring Saitama Prefecture, the infection spread. Travel to and from overseas was suspended, and his return flight booked for April 1, 2020, was canceled.

Leo learned from the Italian Embassy that a special flight would leave Japan in late April that year. But his mother told him that if he were to come home now, he wouldn’t be able to leave the house due to the lockdown, and that he should stay in Japan until the situation settles. At the time, Italy was facing a serious outbreak. Many died, hospitals overflowed, and the resultant recession left many unemployed.

While his friend managed to board a special flight, Leo remained in Japan. His host, mother, 80-year-old Misao Ito, kindly allowed him to continue staying for free, but Leo had to earn to pay for food and other expenses.

Born and raised in Italy to an Italian father and a Japanese mother, Leo is not yet 22 — the age when one needs to choose a nationality under Japan’s current system. He has Italian and Japanese citizenship, which enables him to work as a Japanese person. His problem is the Japanese language. While he can speak it pretty well, he can’t read or write it. Leo applied for a number of part-time jobs, including at a gyudon beef bowl restaurant, a sushi restaurant, a transportation firm, a supermarket and at convenience stores, but none of them hired him.

“Maybe you’ll have a better chance finding a part-time job in Tokyo? Why don’t you save your money and go to college or vocational school in Japan?” Misao suggested to Leo. Then, in July 2020, Leo moved to the home of Misao’s acquaintance Chikako Ito, 68, in Inagi, Tokyo.

Chikako said, “The first thing I did was get him used to the Japanese language. Then, I helped him become independent so he could live on his own. Also, I supported Leo in terms of mental and physical wellbeing while keeping in touch with his parents. Basically, I had to raise Leo to be a full-fledged person.”

Chikako, a former local assembly member, knows many people. She took Leo to an international exchange class at a local elementary school, and also to an event at a citizen’s farm.

His first part-time job involved cleaning at a hospital. Although his Japanese reading and writing skills were not tested, he was a little disappointed. Leo graduated from a high school specializing in IT. He and his friends entered programming competitions every year, and in his third year he won second place in a regional competition. If possible, he wanted to work with computers.

“But no matter how good you are at computers, I’m sure plenty of people in Japan are at your level,” Chikako told Leo.

The owner of a nearby convenience store took pity on his situation and hired him. Leo ended up working part-time at a recycling center sorting plastic bottles and at a pork cutlet restaurant washing dishes.

Around January 2021, Leo suddenly told Chikako, “Monotonous work isn’t for me.” He forgot to leave the garbage at the hospital cleaning. At the convenience store, he misplaced items and forgot to give customers change. Whether it was sorting plastic bottles or washing dishes, he lost concentration and took a long time to complete tasks. He got told off so many times that he was eventually fired.

Chikako decided to connect Leo to a part-time job at an IT company through an acquaintance. He started in May 2021 at GIB Japan, a system development firm based near JR Shin-Okubo Station in Shinjuku Ward.

“Leo is quite good,” President Keiichiro Miyamoto said with a smile. In Japanese society, years of experience are often used as a yardstick, but Leo is regarded as having good head on his shoulders, regardless of his lack of experience. Miyamoto said, “He can learn things quickly. I think he’ll grow a lot.”

Leo works on creating websites and developing systems while Miyamoto watches his screen and gives advice. “It’s the kind of work I’m interested in, and I don’t feel uncomfortable with the company’s atmosphere,” Leo said.

Leo was hired as a full-time employee in December 2021. That night, Chikako and her husband prepared a strawberry sponge cake with lots of whipped cream, rice with oysters and quiche to celebrate Leo’s new status.

But Leo said, “I thought the cake was to celebrate my birthday, but it was a while ago. By the way, I forgot to tell my parents I got a full-time job.” It seems communication is still not perfect.

2021 passed, and Leo marked his second New Year’s Day in Japan. “I’ve had a lot of experiences, and I think I’ve grown up a little,” he said.