The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will hold meetings in September to recruit multilingual volunteers to aid non-Japanese residents in the case of disasters, such as a massive earthquake, government officials said Wednesday.
The metropolitan government hopes to eventually recruit about 1,000 people in total. About 630 volunteers from 21 languages have already registered.
In the event of a major disaster, the volunteers would be asked to provide foreigners with information and participate in relief activities at government offices, hospitals and other shelters, the officials said.
Meetings are scheduled for Sept. 11 at the No. 2 Building of the government's head office in Shinjuku Ward, and Sept. 12 at Tokyo Women's Plaza Hall in Shibuya Ward. Applicants should be between 18 and 70 years old and speak Japanese and at least one non-Japanese language. For further information, call the government at (03) 5388-2295.