Syria-born Osaka man runs online Arabic coffee shop that helps homeland's post-war recovery
OSAKA -- Arabic coffee enjoyed in many Arab countries has flavors distinct from typical coffee consumed in Japan, and one Syrian-born man is operating a store from this west Japan city that allows people to enjoy the blends while contributing to help the people of his homeland.
It is characterized in that finely ground coffee beans and cardamom spices are boiled and imbibed in a small cup about the size of a sake cup. According to 31-year-old Baraa Fuji, the fresh aroma and unique flavor are "a taste of hometown memories." After 13 years of civil war, the Assad dictatorship ruling over Syria came to an end last December. Seeing that recovery will take time, Fuji decided to work to support the country through that familiar taste.
Syria's civil war was called the worst humanitarian crisis of this century. Beginning in March 2011 with the Arab Spring democratic uprisings in the Middle East, the Assad regime at the time thoroughly suppressed the civilian population by force. Later, the rise of extremist organizations and the interests of major powers led the conflict into a quagmire. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees agency, while there has been a movement to return to the country since the 2024 fall of the regime, about 4.5 million people remain in refuge outside its borders.
Fuji, who was born in the Syrian capital of Damascus, first came to live in Japan in 2017. He entered grad school at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, to pursue an MBA. The opportunity to do so came when he applied for a program offered by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to accept Syrians who had been deprived of opportunities to study due to the war as international students.
After graduating, he started working for a company in the city of Osaka that handles e-commerce for overseas markets. He became independent earlier this year, and is now engaged in digital marketing as a sole proprietor.
While he was in graduate school, his wife Iman, 32, came over from Syria to join him, and their kids Adam, 6, and Basema, 4, were born in Japan. This spring, the boy and girl entered elementary school and kindergarten, respectively. Thinking, "I want to live as a Japanese person, not as a foreigner," Fuji acquired Japanese citizenship last November. The surname he adopted is taken from Mount Fuji, which he described as "the image of Japan that I have known for a long time."
Syria had been under dictatorship for over half a century, led by two generations of oppressive rulers. Fuji said of the time he found out on Facebook that the regime had suddenly been toppled, "I was surprised because there had been a civil war for a long time. But I was happy anyway."
Amid that, he opened the online store specializing in Syrian products called Qafua Shop this March. Qafua is Arabic for "coffee." And as the name implies, the store mainly handles Arabic coffee like those he used to drink daily in his hometown. Because the coffee beans are ground only after being ordered, the shop says its offerings are fresher than those sold in stores regularly.
For every gram of coffee sold, one yen is donated to the Molham Volunteering Team, a humanitarian aid nongovernmental organization established by Syrians, and used to support medical care, daily life and education among other needs.
Fuji expressed his hopes, saying, "Many have lost their livelihoods due to the civil war, and it is difficult to rebuild Syria alone. Through coffee, we can support the futures of people living in a faraway place."
(Japanese original by Rei Kubo, Osaka Photo and Video Department)
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