SACHIKO SAITO PHOTO EXHIBITION “Not now but one day” June 28 – July 6, 2025

06/14/2025

We are pleased to announce the photography exhibition “Not now but one day” by Sachiko Saito as our June 2025 special exhibition.
This work focuses on the Kurdish community living in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture. In 2018, Saito first became aware of the existence of Kurds in Japan after becoming concerned about the country’s extremely low refugee acceptance rate. Initially perceiving them simply as “Kurdish refugees,” her understanding deepened as she encountered Kurdish individuals living in Kawaguchi and built relationships through photography. Through this engagement, she came to witness both the richness of their culture and the complexity of their lived realities, and continued to document their lives over time.
From 2020, Saito developed the project under the mentorship of Yumi Goto at Reminders Photography Stronghold. In 2022, she participated in the “PHOTOBOOK AS OBJECT” workshop, which further pushed the work toward book form. After much trial and error, the artist book Not now but one day has finally taken shape. This special edition of 93 copies was created in reference to the year 1993—the year when the longest-residing Kurdish man featured in the work first came to Japan. Alongside photographs, the book delicately weaves together fragments of words and events Saito has encountered throughout her journey.
Pre-orders for the book will begin on June 20—World Refugee Day—and copies will also be available for viewing and purchase at the exhibition venue during the show.
On the opening day, Saturday, June 28 at 2:00 PM, an Artist Talk with Sachiko Saito will be held. This rare opportunity will allow visitors to hear the artist speak in her own words about the background of the work, the lives of Kurdish people in Japan as revealed through her interviews, and the thoughts behind the creation of the book. Understanding the creative process will deepen your engagement with the exhibition and provide a more immersive experience—don’t miss it.
Additionally, to mark the closing of the exhibition, a talk event titled

“Not now but here – The current lives of Kurds in Japan”
will take place on Saturday, July 5 at 2:00 PM. Saito will be joined by several members of the Kurdish community in Japan, with whom she has worked for many years.
Still living under the provisional release status, these individuals will speak in their own words about their daily lives, internal struggles, and hopes for the future. By listening to their voices, we are offered an important opportunity to reconsider the kind of society we live in. It will be a moment of dialogue that could only happen at this time, in this place. We warmly encourage you to join us.
Further details about the photo exhibition, artist book, and talk events will be announced on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms.
We look forward to welcoming you.

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

“Not now but one day”

In Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, there is a Kurdish community made up of people who came to Japan from Turkey. Many of them have applied for refugee status in Japan, but the rate of approval is extremely low. To date, only one Kurdish person has been granted refugee status—only after a long legal battle. Most live their daily lives under precarious circumstances, either on provisional visas granted during the application process or under temporary release (karihōmen) from immigration detention.

Those on temporary release have no official residency status, are prohibited from working, and face strict limitations on their freedom of movement. Even children born and raised in Japan under these circumstances are subject to the same restrictions. And yet, the reasons they cannot return to Turkey are deep, complex, and urgent.
In 2024, Japan fully enacted a revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act that imposes even harsher conditions on asylum seekers. The societal gaze toward those who have come seeking protection has grown colder.
Today in Japan, many people are left behind in a state of prolonged “temporariness,” living day by day with no clear future in sight.

The title of this project, Not now but one day, comes from a Turkish phrase—Bugün değil ama elbet bir gün—written in a notebook by a young man I photographed with an instant camera. “Not now, but one day. So keep going.” With these words in his heart, he continues to live each day.

Suspended between despair and hope, with no choice but to keep going, many live in this society bearing emotions too complex for words. Sometimes they can’t keep going; sometimes they live moment to moment. Witnessing such vulnerability, fragility, and humanity, I came to feel a deep desire to portray their layered, multifaceted realities through photography—with care and attention.

As I met Kurdish people living in Japan, listened to their voices, and spent time with them in their everyday lives, I began to see not only the reality of Japan’s immigration system but also the personal memories and emotions that lie behind it.

Through this project, I hope to shed light on both.
I also hope this work can serve as a starting point—for all of us living in this society together—to acknowledge one another’s presence and begin a dialogue.

Sachiko Saito

SACHIKO SAITO Photo Exhibition “Not now but one day”

◎Exhibition Period:
28th June(Sat) – 6th July (Sun), 2025
Open daily from 13:00 to 19:00, free admission

◎Opening Reception / Artist Talk:
28th June(Sat), 2025, from 14:00
*The exhibition will be open from 13:00.

◎Closing Session – Talk Event:
5th July (Sar), 2025, from 14:00
“Not now but here – The current lives of Kurds in Japan”

◎Venue:
Reminders Photography Stronghold Gallery
2-38-5 Higashi-Mukojima, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
(6-minute walk from Tobu Skytree Line Hikifune Station / 5-minute walk from Keisei Hikifune Station)

*Other events, such as talk sessions, may be held during the exhibition period.
Further details will be announced as they are decided, so please check our social media for the latest information.

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

©︎Sachiko Saito / Not now but one day

Sachiko Saito | Profile
Japan-based photographer, born in 1985. The main themes in her work are people, land, and history. She is interested in how individuals are affected by their social and historical backgrounds.

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