Poised to embark on a new life on their own, the five Myanmar families in Japan on a U.N.-sponsored third-country resettlement program finished their six-month training Wednesday.
Excitement was in the air at the graduation ceremony, in Tokyo, where 22 of the 27 family members received "diplomas," marking the end of their Japanese-language and acculturation training. The remaining five were too young to participate in the training program.
During the ceremony, the ethnic Karen refugees expressed their gratitude to the Japanese government, their teachers and staff for the opportunity to live in Japan and the language and cultural support provided to the families.