The use of the ‘Kuwana City Multilingual Concierge service (Multilingual Support Desk)’, which has been in operation for one year, and its initiatives are introduced.

Kuwana City in Mie Prefecture Japan, located about 20 minutes from Nagoya station by train, has been strengthening its internationalisation efforts and information dissemination since last year with the aim of becoming a ‘city open to the world’.

The number of international residents in Kuwana city, which is such a pleasant place to live, has increased by approximately 400 since the previous year, and currently over 6000 people live in the city. Kuwana city started a concierge service for international residents on the first floor of the city office on 13^th of June Last year, with the aim of making the city ‘A city welcoming all nationalities.’ The following is an overview of how international residents are using the service and what the response has been.

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Concierges working at the counter

What is the Multilingual Concierge service (Multilingual Support Desk)?

It is a consultation desk that has been set up in front of the south entrance on the first floor of Kuwana City Office. It provides information and advice on daily life, orientation, and administrative matters mainly to international residents. In addition to Portuguese, Vietnamese and English, the multilingual telephone interpretation service supports other languages. *The service is available from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays and year-end and New Year holidays.

The number of inquiries is increasing with more than 3,000 inquiries to date.

In August, two months after the Multilingual Concierge service (Multilingual Support Desk) launched, the monthly number of consultations exceeded to 250 cases (12 cases per day), and as awareness of the service spread, the number of users has been increasing, reaching 384 cases (19.2 cases per day) in May of this year.

The most frequently received inquiries and consultations are those related to the difficulty in understanding administrative documents and procedures, followed by an increasing number of inquiries related to childcare.

Many users have commented that this service has been very helpful, since they did not have a place to go for consultation before, and companies in the city have also appreciated the orientation provided by the city office to provide information on what they need to know to live in Japan.

Concierge centrally grasps the needs of foreign residents

Secondary effects of the service launch are also evident. The concierge receives inquiries and consultations regarding daily life in Kuwana City, allowing the concierge to centrally grasp the problems and needs of foreign residents.

For example, after the service launched, the city realized that the support desk was receiving many tax-related inquiries, so the city introduced multilingual signboards at the taxation division. Also, by collaborating with outside organizations, the support desk has enabled the city to provide guidance and consultation services for matters that were difficult to know where to go for advice.

By understanding the needs of foreign residents and accumulating experience, Kuwana city is now able to provide consultation services more smoothly and are constantly evolving into a city office that is more accessible to international residents.

Sending out information on social media

Portuguese and Vietnamese Facebook pages were launched last July. Users seem satisfied, saying that it is helpful to receive accurate information from the city office.

Kuwana City will continue to implement initiatives for internationalisation, with the aim of becoming ‘a city open to the world’ and ‘a comfortable city for everyone to live.’

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[Kuwana City, Mie, Japan] One year after the opening of the ‘Kuwana Multilingual Support Desk (Multilingual Concierge Service)’ -Over 3000 of use.