Just 4 in 10 foreign residents ‘understand’ public info in Japan’s Nara Pref.: survey

NARA — Just four in 10 resident foreigners in western Japan’s Nara Prefecture understand letters and notices written in Japanese such as those from city hall, according to the preliminary results of a questionnaire by the prefectural government.

The results of the survey, which inquired about foreign residents’ living issues and how they’d like the Nara Prefectural Government to respond, revealed challenges to conveying public information. The government intends to follow up in ways such as holding a roundtable discussion with the parties involved to gain more detailed insight into the issue and compile the prefecture’s basic policies on multicultural inclusivity within this fiscal year.

The online survey of 5,000 resident foreigners aged 18 and older was conducted between June 27 and July 15. With versions in 11 languages prepared, responses were received from 1,537 people, or 30.7%.

The most common daily living challenge, selected by 36.9% of respondents with multiple choices possible, was “language and communication.” Regarding Japanese language ability, just 42.4% said they could read and understand letters and notices from government offices, schools or workplaces at least somewhat, while over 10% said they could “hardly read at all.”

In another multiple-selection question on how respondents get their info, “Japanese friends and acquaintances” was the most common at 50.4%, while “informational magazines and notices circulated by the government” and “government offices” accounted for only 12% and 11.1%, respectively.

A further multiple-selection field tracked pollees’ desired responses from the prefectural government. These included, in descending order, “multilingualization of administrative information, disaster prevention information, etc.” at 47.5%, “creation of opportunities to learn Japanese” at 46.5%, and “interpretation services at administrative offices” at 32.5%. A notable number of respondents viewed lingual support as critical.

According to the national government and others, as of the end of 2023 approximately 3.41 million foreigners resided in Japan. In Nara Prefecture, that number stood at 17,614, an all-time high. Aside from during the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a continuing upward trend, and the most common countries of origin have included Vietnam with 3,958, or 22.5% of the total, China with 3,106 or 17.6%, and South Korea with 3,079 (17.5%). By residency status, permanent residents were the largest group at 3,694 (21%), followed by the 3,063 or 17.4% who were technical interns.

On Aug. 27, the prefecture’s “Committee for Promotion of Multicultural Inclusivity,” comprised of experts, two publicly-selected foreign residents and others, held its first discussion meeting. The tentatively named “Prefectural multicultural inclusivity promotion plan” will be set by the end of this fiscal year.

(Japanese original by Takeshi Kawabata, Nara Bureau)