NEWSWORTHY
Tokyo's foreign residents prepare for worst at multilingual disaster drill
On the heels of a year marked by natural disasters — and with thousands of foreign workers expected to enter the country over the next few years — the Tokyo Metropolitan Government hosted a disaster drill Wednesday in Setagaya Ward to prepare foreign residents ...
While more than half of Japanese feel that their communities are shrinking, only about 14 percent believe it is necessary for society to actively accept foreign workers and those wishing to settle in order to keep their regions going, a survey has found. The survey, ...
Probe into abuse of health insurance by foreigners in Japan stirs claims of prejudice
A government probe into alleged abuse of Japan's public health insurance system by foreign residents has sparked controversy, with critics claiming the investigation encourages prejudice against non-Japanese. In January, the health and justice ministries began looking into allegations foreigners had fraudulently obtained residential status in ...
Tokyo adds four foreign languages to its customer help line for water services
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government added four foreign languages to its multilingual telephone line Tuesday to respond to inquiries about water services from the capital's growing number of foreign residents and better assist them in dealing with leakages and other emergencies. The service enables customers to ...
A month after the historic rain disaster in western Japan, residents in Hiroshima are still struggling to come to terms with the aftermath. And the people most affected, particularly those unfamiliar with Japanese procedures, will face further hurdles on the path to recovery. As residents ...
Non-Japanese speakers turned to employers for help in aftermath of west Japan flooding disaster
With basic necessities interrupted, homes evacuated and infrastructure badly in need of repair, surviving a disaster is challenging enough, but for non-Japanese speakers there is the added worry of getting important information in a language they can understand. Following the torrential downpour that hit western ...
Alleged abuse of national health insurance system sparks probe into foreign patients
The government has launched a nationwide probe into allegations that foreign residents are abusing the public health insurance system.
No foreign nationals listed among dead in western Japan rain disasters, survey of prefectures shows
Fourteen prefectures hit by recent heavy rain and landslides in western Japan have not recorded any foreign nationals as having died or gone missing, a Japan Times phone survey of local governments has found. Among the 14 prefectures, the three hardest-hit are Hiroshima, with 94 ...
Number of foreign residents in Japan hit record 2.56 million at end of 2017
The number of foreign nationals who lived in Japan as of the end of 2017 grew 7.5 percent from a year earlier to hit a record high of 2,561,848, reflecting a jump in Vietnamese residents, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry also said the ...
The face of immigration is rapidly changing in Japan
Over the past half decade, major changes have taken place in the demographics of foreign residents in Japan. Weekly Playboy's Dec. 18 issue devoted a four-page article to "Research into Vietnamese." Why Vietnamese? And why now? "Their numbers in Japan have drastically increased," the magazine ...
Home-taught cooking lessons by Japan's foreign residents offer a taste of cuisine and culture
Cooking classes run by foreign residents at their homes are spreading across Japan and growing more popular, offering students an authentic taste of a variety of cuisines. Women have been particularly drawn to Tadaku, an online service that matches teachers with those who want to ...
Coming of age: 1 in 8 new adults in Tokyo are not Japanese, ward figures show
The foreign community is younger overall than the native population across the 23 wards, figures show.
