TOKYO -- If you were raising children overseas, what kind of picture books would you want for them?

Since last summer, Bookstart Japan, a nonprofit group that promotes activities to give picture books to parents and children after reading stories to them at infant health checkups and other events, has been holding a study session called the "meeting to think about picture books in native languages."

In response to comments from foreign parents in Japan that they cannot read picture books to their children because they are written in Japanese, children's book editors, researchers and others come together and study with the aim to "provide an opportunity for all people to begin reading picture books." This Mainichi Shimbun reporter happens to have a connection with the group and attends every meeting.

At a recent gathering, I had the opportunity to hear the actual voices of mothers from other countries. They provided various opinions such as, "I try my best to read picture books in hiragana characters to my child without understanding the contents," and "Picture books are important because they allow parents and children to experience Japanese customs and culture together, in addition to learning the Japanese language."

So, what kind of picture books do foreign parents want? As expected, many say they want books translated into their native language. Meanwhile, an Indonesian woman whose daughter came of age this year said, "When I was raising my daughter, I wanted books that featured not only Japanese children but also foreigners and other children of all backgrounds." A mother of a 2 1/2-year-old daughter from China said, "I want a story about a foreign child entering a Japanese day care center." Their comments were unexpected and made me realize it wasn't just a language issue.

A woman from Vietnam raising a 3-year-old child said, "I want a picture book about Vietnamese and Japanese food." I thought, "Wait, food?" and when I asked her for more details, she told me that her child had recently started saying, "The meal at the day care center is better (than at home)." She said, "I cook both Japanese and Vietnamese food at home. I want my child to like both." I imagined a picture book with udon and pho side by side, which sounds like something that I would also like to read!

According to Bookstart Japan, 28% of newborns in the UK have either or both parents with overseas roots. There is even a publisher there that specializes in releasing picture books in around 80 languages. It is apparently natural for children with foreign roots, children with disabilities, and families with same-sex couples and single mothers to appear in ordinary picture books. In fact, such books are gradually increasing in Japan as well.

I tried to imagine. If there are characters in picture books who are in a similar situation to themselves, children with foreign roots will be more engaged in the story and will likely feel that they are accepted by society and that it is "OK to be here." It would also be a good multicultural lesson for Japanese children.

(Japanese original by Ayako Oguni, Opinion Editorial Department)