(Petitioners, please leave your comments about how Emmy has improved your experience of Dublin!) 

For the attention of The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D;

”Dublin is dying” is a phrase that has been used to describe our capital all too many times, but in the midst of this crisis, the love of our city for some individuals has been so strong that just one person can make a city a better place to live. Emmy Shigeta is one of those people, and if nothing is done, we will lose her.

  Emmy Shigeta is a Japanese born, Dublin based DJ and all round wonderful person. She has touched the lives of so many people in Dublin, and throughout the rest of the country with her positivity, kindness, and love of all things Ireland. She has also brought together diverse groups of people and become an integral part of the Dublin musical scene. Emmy has injected life into Dublin light life at a time when it has been on life support, and she did so for no reason other than her love of Dublin. She has introduced so many people from different communities and groups who may not have met otherwise, and inspired others to create and try to make Dublin a better place culturally. In recent times and throughout our history, we have had people leave our country in droves for greener pastures, but in Emmy’s case, she has come to Ireland because to her, Irelands culture and people are the greenest pastures she could dream of. 

Unfortunately, Emmy was only allowed to remain in Ireland on her College Visa, which is due to expire soon. During her time here, she worked with The Lighthouse Cinema. The Lighthouse Cinema had never previously made a work permit application for an employee, but given her incredibly character, work ethic, and passion for film, they made an exception. Unfortunately, the Irish Government has declined this application, and Emmy will have to leave Ireland in the near future.

The loss of one person will break so many hearts and ripple through the Irish music scene; it’s impossible to imagine Dublin without her, whether that is her DDR radio show, her expertise in live music, her helping hands, or her amazing DJ sets. 

You might be asking, as The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, what does this have to do with me? Well, a single person can make such a big difference to culture and arts in a city, and Emmy is surely one of those people. One night recently when there was tourists from the UK at one of the nights Emmy was DJing, they remarked at how brilliant her set was and how they have nothing like that in their city, and how rare and wonderful it is to encounter someone who has mastered the craft of spinning records of the Japanese greats. Emmy also runs an amazing blog in Japanese, for Japanese audiences, to highlight her experience in Ireland and all of the things she has done here (http://emmyshigeta.com/ This blog helps to promote interest in visiting Ireland for Japanese tourists, a place that is less known about than some of our bigger neighbours. 

We feel so strongly that if Dublin is to prosper as a city, exceptions must be made for individuals who have contributed massively to the social, arts, and cultural climate, and in the event of a community coming together and demonstrating their support for an individual, a special permit to remain in Ireland should be available. We ask The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to consider this proposal. The cultural link between Ireland and Japan spans back hundreds of years, and just how we would hate to imagine Japan without the great Dubliner Lafcadio Hearn, We would hate to imagine Dublin without Emmy Shigeta.