OFIX NEWS
OFIX NEWS has been
distributed online andby email since Vol.101!
Use this QR code to register toreceive your copy online!
https://www.ofix.or.jp/english/archive/

4.17[mon], 19[wed]We held Staff training
with “Persona Setting”!

Official Character

Bora-chan

Summer of 2023

105

vol.

Jul 15, 2023

■ Staff Training and Cross-Cultural AwarenessEducation Report■ Introduction of Orion International House■ Interviews with International Students at OrionInternational House■ Event Information

What kind of life do residents from abroad in Osaka have and what kind of support do they need? Inorder to provide support that better fits the needs of foreign residents, OFIX held two “persona setting”
training sessions for staff members at the beginning of the new fiscal year.
Staff members first created two fictional foreign residents with different
backgrounds and visa statuses, and proposed support plans that would
suit each of them.

Let's meet the fictional characters Ms. Lee and Ms. Cham!

Ms. LeeMs. Cham

I am a permanent resident and I hope toinvite my father who is in China to live withme in Japan.

I am an international student from Vietnam and have a
dream to open a Vietnamese restaurant in Japan in thefuture.

Support suggested by staff

Support suggested by staff

We will confirm Ms. Lee's father's intention andwish in regards to moving to Japan. Following
that, we will discuss various support methods
such as finding an appropriate status ofresidence and how to time his arrival in Japan.

We will organize an international cooking competitionand have Ms. Cham serve her own Vietnamese dishes tothe participants at the cooking competition and ask fortheir feedback. Through this project, Ms. Cham will beable to better visualize the idea of opening a restaurant,learn what kind of dishes are popular and how to arrange
the ingredients to attract interest.

We will continue to use the experience gained from this training
to plan projects that meet the needs of residents from abroad!

We sent supporters to conduct Cross-Cultural Awareness Education (CCAE) classes!
As an opportunity to learn about multicultural coexistence with theyouth in Osaka, we dispatch registered international students andother residents with roots abroad as supporters to help conduct
cross-cultural awareness education classes at local schools. InMay and June, we had face-to-face and online classes! Supporters
introduced their countries' cultures, histories, and differences fromJapan. Through the classes they were able to have meaningfulexchange with the students in Osaka.
5.31[wed], 6.14[wed]Online Global Meeting (OGM)

Online Global Meeting (OGM) is a series of four online classes forstudents in Higashiosaka City organized by the local board of education.
In the first and second class, a supporter from Indonesia introduced
Indonesian culture through fun quizzes and other activities.

5.22[mon], 6.26[mon]Online classes at Osaka International
Club OSAKASix OFIX supporters participated in the first (May 22) and second (June26) online classes of the Osaka International Club! The first class wasjoined by supporters from the United States, Venezuela and Taiwan,
while the second class was joined by supporters from Cuba, Uzbekistan
and Korea. The supporter from Venezuela had a great time dancing
with the children.
6.12[mon]Face-to-face class at Osaka
Prefectural Akutagawa High School

An OFIX staff from the Uyghur region of China gave a class in English tohigh school students at Osaka Prefectural Akutagawa High School. She
commented, “I was nervous in my first class, but I told the students that
it is important to communicate actively
even if English is not their first language,
and that it is fun to be able to speak
different languages.” The students werealso surprised to learn that the Uyghur
word for “thank you” (Rahmat sizge) is usedeverywhere in Central Asia.

Orion International House
With the easing of the restrictions from COVID-19, tourists from abroad have once again
become a common sight on the streets of Osaka. Along with them, the number of recently
arrived international students has also been gradually increasing. For this issue, we interviewed
international students living at Orion International House in Osaka Prefecture, and found out
their reasons for studying in Japan and what surprised them when they arrived!

Introduction ofOrion International House
Orion International House is an international student dormitory
operated by OFIX. Located in Sakai City, there currently are 76
students (as of June 1, 2023) residing in the dorm. Single international
students who are enrolled in a university or other institution in Osaka
Prefecture and who are having difficulty finding a place to live mayapply to live in the dormitory.

This is theOrion InternationalHouse!

NBora-chanOrion International House Residents’
Nationality/Home Region
CongoRussia

FranceChina
VietnamTaiwan

Korea

Mongolia
Gabon
Kenya
Indonesia
Syria

eLinanw
Ha JA Sakai

JRUenoshiba Seiyu
Sta. Senb
No.1 oku
Rd.

Official CharacterJapan

To Tennoji

🇨🇩 Congo
🇷🇺 Russia
🇫🇷 France🇲🇳 Mongolia
🇬🇦 Gabon🇰🇪 Kenya🇮🇩 Indonesia
🇸🇾 Syria🇻🇳 Vietnam
🇰🇷 Korea🇹🇼 Taiwan
🇨🇳 China
🇯🇵 Japan(As of June 1, 2023) Total

11101132198631276

Orion International House Introduction Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT4FTHHZ1zo

Osaka Metropolitan
UniversityInternationalResidence

Sakai
Katsuragi Rd.

Orion International House
2-226 Higashi Uenoshiba-cho,Kita-ku, Sakai 591-8035
TEL: 072-250-8701
FAX: 072-250-8702

Tutor Introduction
What is a tutor?
Tutors are dormitory students who plan and organize events for other residents inthe dormitory and also serve as counselors. Tutors can be both Japanese andinternational students. Self-introductions of this year's tutors will be posted on ourwebsite, so please check it out!
Orion International Househttps://www.ofix.or.jp/
english/dormitory/

The Lives of International Students in Japan

01

Point

What are the top 3 places international
students living in Osaka Prefecture
come from?

In 2022, the top three places that international students living in Osaka
Prefecture came from were Asia, Europe and North America. Of thestudents from Asia, the largest number were from China, followed byVietnam and Nepal. (From Osaka Prefectural Government, “Number ofInternational Students in Osaka Prefecture 2022” data)

03

Point

When international students want towork part-time, they need to apply inadvance!

When you go to a convenience store or restaurant, do you sometimes
see international students working? Since the status of residence forinternational students is “Student,” they must spend most of theirtime learning at a school, but they can work part-time if they apply
for “Permission to engage in an activity other than those permitted
by the status of residence (資格外活動許可).” However, maximum
working hours are limited to 28 hours per week.

02

Point

How do international students finda place to live?

When renting a room in Japan, it is necessary to find a guarantor, but
it is often very difficult for international students who have only lived
in Japan for a short time to find one. For this reason, many students
use university dormitories or use a guarantor company to rent anapartment.

04

Point

After graduation, foreign students can stayin Japan and engage in job hunting activities
with a special status of residence!

After graduation, if an international student wishes to remain in
Japan and continue job hunting, he/she can change his/her status ofresidence to “Designated Activities” (特定活動). The period of stay is 6
months, and the maximum stay is 1 year.International Students Interview

Orion International House

Q3 What do you want to try out recently?

Lee-san李思葦
Lee-san(Taiwan)

吳宛瑾Wu-san

郭潤傑

楊建陽

CEZEUR Emma

Guo-sanYang-sanEmma-san(Taiwan)(China)(China)(France)*Please note that in accordance with student requests, some interviews were conductedin languages other than English. Therefore the content may not reflect the international
student's original intention perfectly.

Guo-sanLee-sanGuo-sanI decided to come toJapan because I wanted to study pathology
here. I chose the Kansai region because thecost is lower than in
the Kanto region.

I have a few reasons! I
decided to study in Japanbecause the cost of studying in Japan is cheaper
than in the West. Also
when I was choosing a second language at school, I
thought Japanese sounded
beautiful when my friends
spoke it. My final reason is
because there is a positive
stereotype that Japanesepeople are very kind toTaiwanese people and thatthe cities are clean.
I studied Japanese atuniversity, so I wanted tostudy in Japan.

Guo-sanWu-sanGuo-sanI have a Japanese “senpai” (senior) who is very
friendly, and I usually speakwith them using honorificlanguage, but once I tried
talking in a more casual
tone and he got angry withme. There are no honorifics
in spoken Chinese, so I
found it difficult to use
language differently basedon the relationship withothers.

I am a member of a club at my university, and when
we had our first meeting, I found it strange that we
all introduced ourselves one by one to the whole
Emma-san club. You don't see this very often in France.

Yang-san“Umaa [Delish] ” (うまっ).
When used it conveys themeaning that the foodis so delicious that it issurprising. So if I have topick a favorite word thatwould be it. (Laughs)“Daijobu-desu-ka [Areyou okay] ” (大丈夫ですか？). It is a very usefulword because it can beused in many situations.

“Ichigo-ichie [Once-in-alifetime meeting] ” (一期一会). I have lived in Japanfor seven years, so I think
this word represents themany encounters I have
had with people.

“Neko [Cat] ” (ねこ). I havebeen to Gotokuji temple inTokyo, which is the temple
that the famous good luck
Emma-san “maneki-neko” is from.

Wu-sanYang-sanQ5 What did you bring from your own country?
Yang-sanLee-san

I brought Taiwanese cup noodles.
I wanted to taste the taste of
Taiwan in Japan.
Chinese hot pot soup.

Guo-san

I am from Sichuan, so I
am a little unfamiliar withJapanese food because
it tastes a little light tome. I was also surprisedby how people often
pay for things. In China
you can pay using yourphone, but in Japan,
most places you pay bycash. I used a lot of coins
for the first time in mylife. (Laughs)

Wu-sanQ4 What is your favorite Japanese word?

Lee-sanQ2 What surprised you when you came to Japan?

Lee-san

I will study hard! Ialso want to manage
my time well.

“Takoyaki ” (たこ焼き). 
Because it is delicious!

Emma-sanI was surprised to see thatmost of the transportation
was by bicycle. I saw somedeliveries by bicycle aswell. It is very unusual tome because in Taiwan,
many people ride scooters. I was also surprised
to see that Japanese girls
always wear makeup when
they go out.

I would like to try “natto ”(fermented soybeans). I
also want to visit a publicbathhouse.

Emma-sanI decided to come to Japan as an exchange student
because I am studying Japanese at university.

I was surprised to see
m o r e b i c yc l e s t h a nscooters. There aremany more scooters in
Taiwan than bicycles.
I was also surprisedby the many vending
machines in Japan andthat Japanese people
always dress nicely
when they go out.

I want to try to ride abicycle in Japan.

I want to travel to various places. I would like to goto Hiroshima.

Q1 Why did you come to Japan to study?
I had been to Japan
several times before
coming here to study
and had a very good
impression of Japan.
And now that I am asenior in university, I
wanted to experiencean exchange program
before I graduate.

I want to go to the Tenjin
Festival.

I brought porridge and chocolate from France. I eat
them when I feel homesick.

Emma-sanQ6 What are your future goals?

Lee-sanI would like to improve
my Japanese languageskills. I also want to go
on a working holiday
in Japan in the future.

Guo-san

I would like to take aprofessional examination and continue myresearch at university.

Wu-sanI want to study Japanese more
and get a job where I can use
Japanese after graduation.

Wu-sanI want to become a teacher
in the future.
I would like to continue tostudy in Japan, maybe doing a master degree here.

Yang-sanEmma-sanQ7 Finally, anything else you would like to share?
I have more homework
than I expected .

💦

Yang-sanLee-sanGuo-san

I sent a package to China
at the post office the otherday and was very impressedwith the courteous serviceof the post office staff.

Japan is an interesting
country and I like the styleof the streets because theyEmma-san are really unique.

I am not good with all
the raw vegetables
served in Japanesedishes. I am used tostir-fried vegetables.
It is difficult for international students
to find a room bythemselves, so I amvery happy to live ina safe and inexpensive
dormitory like Orion
International House.

Wu-sanYang-sanSeminar for Companies Looking to Hire orHave Hired International Workers
On September 7(Thu), we will hold a seminar for companies that want to hire or have hired
international workers! An official from the Osaka Regional Immigration Service Bureau will
give a lecture on basic information (status of residence, work visa, etc.) and provide details
regarding the hiring of international workers. In addition, foreign residents living in Osaka
will introduce the work culture of their country. Please feel free to join if you are interested!
Date and Time

September 7(Thu), 14:00-16:00

Place

Mydome Osaka

Language

Japanese*Advance registration required (details will be posted on the OFIX website at a later date)“Plain Japanese” is a way of writing Japanese that is easier for everyone to understand, andwas created in the wake of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995. It is used in various
fields as an effective means of providing information to residents of varying backgrounds not
only in times of disaster, but also during everyday life. Did you know that depending on where
someone comes from, not just honorifics and kanji, but katakana (foreign loan words) andonomatopoeia can also be difficult?

We have chosen five words this time, so let's try to rewrite them into “Plain Japanese”!

1 台風

2 治療する

3 待合室

4 無料

5 最寄り駅To learn more about “Plain Japanese”, please visit
https://www.pref.osaka.lg.jp/kanko/easyjpn/index.html (Japanese only)▼ Example Answers① 台風（とても 強い 風と 雨） ② 治療する
（病気や けがを なおす） ③ 待合室（待つ 部屋） ④ 無料（お金がいらない） ⑤ 最寄り駅（いちばん 近い 駅）

We are looking for supporting members!

AccessAnnual membership: 50,000 yen for corporate members,3,000 yen for individual members

https://www.ofix.or.jp/donate/◆ Provision of OFIX’s printed materials, reports and other publications
free of charge or on a priority basis

5Japanese page: 11,000 JPY banner/month

12

English page: 5,500 JPY banner/monthhttps://www.ofix.or.jp/english/banners/

For comments and suggestions, go to

Osaka Foundation of International Exchange (OFIX)

JICA Osaka Desk @OFIX
TEL: 06-6966-2400
E-mail: jicadpd-desk-osakafu@jica.go.jp

大阪府国際交流財団

Osaka Foundation of International Exchange

Osaka Chamberof Commerceand Industry

4〒Hommachi
St.
FirePolice
City Plaza Osaka station 3station1
Chuo odori St. Tanimachi
4-chomeSakaisuji Hommachi Sta. Chuo Line Sta.

https://www.ofix.or.jp/banners/

公益財団法人Naka Oe
ParkTanimachi LineWant your banner to shine on our page?

〒Naka Oe
4Elementary
SchoolTanimachi Ave.

* Donations to public interest foundations are eligible for tax benefits

Hanshin Expressway◆ 50% off banner advertisements (for corporate members with twoor more accounts)

SakaiSuji Ave.

Sakaisuji Line◆ OFIX News (quarterly) and Report (yearly) containing informationon OFIX’s activities and international exchange▶ info@ofix.or.jp

Tosabori St.
Keihan Line
Temmabashi〒Sta.
Matsuyamachi
Ave.

Kitahama
Sta.

5th Floor, MyDome Osaka, 2-5 Hommachibashi,Chuo-ku, Osaka 540-0029
TEL: 06-6966-2400 FAX: 06-6966-2401
E-mail: info@ofix.or.jp Website: https://www.ofix.or.jp/english/▶ OFIX News Back Numbers

https://www.ofix.or.jp/english/archive/▶	OFIX Twitter

https://twitter.com/OFIX_JP▶	OFIX Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/osakafoundation▶ OFIX YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/@ofix_ jp