Phillippa Harvey, Coordinator for International Relations,
Mie Prefectural Government HQ, Tsu City
In 2011 there were 45,547 foreign residents registered in Mie Prefecture (out of 1.84m total population). Of these the largest group was the Brazilian population with around 15,000 people listed as resident within Mie’s borders. Second in last year’s statistics was the Chinese population with around nine and a half thousand people listed as residing in Mie. With these two groups comprising over half of Mie’s foreign resident registration figures, it is no surprise that as well as two English-speaking co-coordinators for international relations (CIR) the Mie Prefectural Government Multicultural Affairs Office also contracts CIRs recruited from Brazil and China. Technology is one tool which Mie is using to try and provide information to its local non-Japanese population. Due to problems in information flow, non-Japanese residents can face obstacles which prevent them from becoming fully fledged members of their local community and they are sometimes unable to access services that might be helpful to them or even know of their existence.
The non-Japanese community, which is a fairly youthful population group, is also an untapped source of energy and activism in the region. Not only do they support the region as a labour force and source of taxes, but are an integral component to Mie’s vision for the future: one of the prefecture’s goals is for local people to help improve their quality of life through cooperation with their neighbours and fellow citizens. Mie Prefecture intends to help kick-start this inter-community and intercultural exchange by increasing the circulation of information. Thus, a large part of our work as CIRs in Mie Prefecture is to translate information about issues affecting local residents’ daily lives and disaster prevention notices into our respective languages. One of the most important documents so far this year was a summary of Mie Prefecture’s ten year goals, which was translated into five different languages.
After much consideration of the various possibilities, Mie produced its very own multilingual information service website: the Mie Prefecture Information Home Page. The website is still relatively new but is regularly updated with information in Portuguese, Spanish, English and Japanese. The page features both written news stories and videos intended to inform local people and improve their awareness of issues that affect them. Mie Prefecture’s Multicultural Affairs Division works in collaboration with a local company, Portal Mie (who also run a general news and lifestyle website for the Brazilian population in Mie Prefecture), whose employees take care of the day to day maintenance, production of video content and editing of the site.
Examples of features on the site up until now include an introduction to life within an emergency refuge shelter, energy saving tips for the summer and disaster preparation at home, as well as information on local events and educational seminars. The CIRs work together with the prefecture and website staff on the content as needed, such as when native checks of scripts and news reports are required. Our work as CIRs can also include providing audio narrations for or appearing in the videos produced for the site.
Working on this site as both CIR and foreign resident myself has given me new insight on the kind of information required by and methods used by local government to reach out to the local community. I was lucky enough to study Japanese at university and reach a level of proficiency which allows me to approach the local administration with questions or to submit paperwork and notices as required. I can also find out about local events by picking up the Japanese-language local magazine or visiting the tourist office. However, for many foreign residents, and possibly many assistant language teachers on the JET Programme, this may be difficult or even impossible without help and thus they may feel isolated from the local community.
Enter the Mie Prefecture Information Homepage. The information service website could help people who feel this way through, for example, the video documenting the activities of neighborhood associations. Many people will live in an area with an active neighborhood association and the video explains what the association does, the benefits of becoming a member and what is expected of those who take part in its activities. The video is subtitled in several languages and it presents its subject material from not only a Japanese perspective but also from the point of view of a non-Japanese resident through interviews with locals who have already become involved. This sends a very positive message to the viewer that approaching your neighbours, even if you are not confident of your language, and helping the community improves your quality of life in return – returning to the idea which the prefecture is trying to push as it implements its ten year plan to create a better Mie for everyone. In this way the Mie Prefecture Information Homepage hopes to continue to improve its content and help make life better for its foreign residents and local communities.
Mie Information Resource for Foreign Residents (outside link)
Mie Prefecture information (outside link)
Coordinator for International Relations is one of the positions available for participants on the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme, the Japanese government initiative that brings graduates to Japan to work in Japanese elementary, junior high and high schools, or in local government offices and boards of education. Click here for more information on the programme
