Japan to use coordinators more to help foreigners in disasters

May 2, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese internal affairs ministry plans to encourage local governments to increase the use of information coordinators tasked with supporting foreigners in the event of disasters.

The coordinators work as a bridge between local governments and foreign residents and visitors, collaborating with local evacuation center staff to select the information needed for each individual.

Local government staff for international exchange-related services and officials at regional associations for international exchanges will be key candidates to become such coordinators, informed sources said.

The ministry will provide training to help nurture such staff, aiming for all prefectures and ordinance-designated major cities to have appropriate assistance systems for foreign disaster victims.

Some 80 percent of the country's prefectures and ordinance-designated major cities have arrangements to support foreigners in times of disasters, mainly in cooperation with local associations for international exchanges, according to ministry officials.

In these places, support staff make the rounds of evacuation centers, translate information from local governments and ask about the needs of disaster victims in times of disasters.

Still, there have been cases in which sufficient support was not available due to language barriers, different dietary habits and foreigners' lack of knowledge about disasters.

One case stemmed from an inability to translate large amounts of information from local governments into various languages, while another was caused by a lack of information about the ingredients of foods provided to Muslim disaster victims.

The ministry aims to spread the use of information coordinators by 2020, when the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Tokyo, so that foreigners, elderly citizens and all other vulnerable people can obtain necessary information in times of disasters.

In the current fiscal year to March 2019, the ministry will provide training for new disaster support information coordinators such as role plays to learn about the management of assistance centers for foreigners and effective ways to distribute information.

The ministry will ask local governments to register training participants so that they can be deployed smoothly in times of disasters. Jiji Press