Vol
Vol.

19
2020.
2020
2
020. 3020

Published by The Niigata International Association (NIA)

On the Cover（ Left ） 2019 Foreign Resident Emergency Support Training（Held 12/8/2019）（Upper Right）2019 International Understanding Presentation
Contest（Held 12/21/2019）（Lower Right）Foreign Resident Consultation Center of Niigata（Opened 10/1/2019）

Contents
FeatureMulticultural Co-existence: Starting with Cultural Exchange
Niigata Sangyo Universityʼs Anvarjonov Hbboskhon, Niigata Agro-Food Universityʼs Kim Seohyeon, Niigata Universityʼs Tan Cher Yen

2■The Foreign Resident Consultation Center of Niigata is Open! ………………………………………………………… 4■Weʼre coming to visit you! Letʼs check out a company
East Japan Welfare Management Service Corporation Nguyen Thi Thu Ha ………………………………………………………………… 5
ほか
入れました

■Enjoying Niigata in the Spring International Student Correspondent -Team BEGIN- ……………………………………… 6■NIA REPORT International Understanding Presentation Contest (and more) ……………………………………………………… 7■NIA INFORMATION NIA Now Recruiting Patrons!（and more） …………………………………………………………………… 8
NIA Of f icial Facebook

Feature

Starting from Cultural Exchange

Multicultural Co-existence
The Niigata International Association appoints students who are excelling in cultural
exchange activities as International Student Exchange Club Members, and supports those
activities. This year, we heard from three students about cultural exchange activities in theirarea and the activities they are planning and carrying out on their own. We asked aboutsome of the things they felt during these activities, focusing on our keyword from the lastissue, "multicultural Co-existence".

Special Issue

Multicultural Co-existence“Recognizing the differences in culture between
yourself and people of other nationalities and races,
and living together while building an equal
relationship with them.” -Ministry of Internal
Af fairs and Communication

１"Let's make a guide map forliving in Kashiwazaki!"
I started as an International Student Exchange Club Member in April of
this year. I joined because I wanted to become a bridge between Japanand Uzbekistan by participating in the club activities. I was invited to andattended an event at the beginning of May by the Kashiwazaki Area
International Association to help make a guide map for the area.
On the day of the event, representatives who lived and worked in Japan
from eight different countries were in attendance -- from Costa Rica,
Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and a variety of other countries. We started withsome recreation. We played a game where we had a number of picturesand had to guess what country each object pictured was from. It was
dif ficult to predict correctly based on only the small details of the pictures.
For me, the most difficult part of making the guidebook was finding
places where Muslims could find Halal food to eat. Islam is the nationalreligion of my home country, Uzbekistan. There are some foods and drinksthat Muslims are forbidden from eating or drinking, such as pork andalcohol. Since it's hard to tell whether or not a restaurant is using any pork
products in their food, you need to check with the restaurant in advance
to be safe. Food that is prepared in accordance with these rules is called"halal." I felt that adding restaurants with this type of food to the guide
map would help Muslims have peace of mind when finding food to eat.

2

２

１ Recreation Time
２ Creating the map while talking withothers in a relaxed environment
３ Certif ied Halal MarkWe split into two groups of eight to create the map. We shared ourknowledge with each other and created the map over the course of about
two hours. The map had both English and Japanese -- since manyexchange students aren't comfortable with Japanese, we felt English wasvery important. And with the 2020 Olympics coming soon, I am hopeful
the map will become a resource for the many Muslims who will be visiting
Japan.
I made many friends through this event and learned a lot as well. I'mhoping to continue to attend these cultural exchange events, learn more
about others, and further strengthen the relationship between my homecountry of Uzbekistan and Japan in the future.

Anvarjonov Hbboskhon
Uzbekistan
Niigata Sangyo University, Economics Department, 2ndYear (Kashiwazaki City)
Enrolled in a Japanese University to study economics
after graduating from a language school in Tokyo in 2018.
In addition to working as a tutor for foreign exchange
students, Anvarjanov is in an acting club and is currently
learning Japanese buyo (dancing).

３

１

２

International Exchange Camp in Tainai

１ Just about to set out on the history tour in Murakami
２ Learning about salmon production in Murakami at Kikkawa

When I received the letter about the International Exchange camp in
Tainai from NIA, the first thing that caught my eye was the Murakami City
History Tour. I take a train bound for Murakami every day on my way to myuniversity, but I had never been to Murakami and wanted to go eventually.
The camp was held in Tainai, where my college campus is, and I was able todeepen my understanding of other cultures through international exchange
while learning with the Japanese middle and high school students.
The thing that remains in my memory the most from the two days andone night is the Murakami City History Tour and the meet-and-greet event.
For the tour, we broke into groups and talked about the places we wanted
to go, and then traveled freely from place to place. Since I was meeting
everyone in my group for the first time, I was a little anxious, but as we spoke
my anxiety lessened and we were able to have a lively discussion. I walked
around Murakami while talking with the other students about our interestsand experiences we have had in Japan and Korea. It was a humid day with atemperature over 30 degrees Celsius, but it was so fun I didnʼt even feel theheat. We visited a store called Kikkawa during the tour and the clerk gave usa deep explanation about salmon. We not only saw salmon, but we also
touched them and tasted them. We also saw a video of the history of
Murakamiʼs festivals at the Murakami History Museum and deepened ourunderstanding of the city. I felt like I had more fun learning about Niigata
during the tour with the students.
After the tour ended, there was a networking event with all of theparticipants to help us learn more about the culture in each otherʼscountries. Each exchange student spoke about their country for 15 minutes,
and then answered questions. I wore a chima and jeogori (a traditional

Korean bottom and top) during my presentation. It had been a while since I
had worn them, so I wasnʼt sure how I looked and was a bit embarrassed.
But after the presentation, many of the Japanese students approached me
and asked to take pictures with me, told me how pretty the clothes were, orsaid they wanted to try one on too. I was very happy that everyone was sointerested in my clothes.
I spoke about Korea, but I was naïve to think it would be easy to present
about just because it was my home country. I struggled with explaining
things clearly while presenting. There were also a number of deep questions
during the question and answers part, such as what the meaning of our flag
was, and being unable to answer, I found myself shocked. It was a dif ficult
experience.
On the other hand, I was able to see a bit how people from other countries
view Korea, and it was a very valuable experience. Up until then, I had felt
like I wanted others to about the culture and language of Korea and I naively
felt I knew a lot about those things, but I realized I knew less than I thought. I
want to continue to study hard both to learn more about my home country,
and to learn more about other cultures through international exchange.

Kim Seohyeon

１

Malaysian Cooking

Special Issue

Korea
nd
Niigata Agro-Food University, Food Industry Department, 2Year (Tainai City)
Having previously been a student at the same university, Kim
Seohyeon began her life as an exchange student in Niigata lastyear. She started an international cultural exchange circle (ICEC)
at her university for exchange students and local Japanese
students, and plans events with other exchange Students.

２

１ Preparing all the ingredients in advance２ Completed nasi lemak. The oval-shaped fried object on the side is a curry puf f.

Iʼve attended a variety of cultural exchange events since being made amember of the International Student Exchange Club in April of last year. In
addition to interacting with people in the area and Japanese students, Iʼve
also been planning and executing events. One of these was a Malaysiancooking class at the Nishi-chiku Community Center in Uchinomachi.
I held the Malaysian cooking class because I wanted to show the appeal of
Malaysian food to Japanese people. Many peopleʼs image of Malaysian foodis that it has a lot of spices and is very spicy, but a lot of the cooking involves
coconut milk or sugar, meaning spicy and sweet foods are common. I
thought that these sweet and spicy foods might be better for people whoarenʼt able to eat spicy things.
In order to make sure the taste would be consistent, I had a tasting before
the event so that Japanese people could try the food. I wrote down the steps
I used to create the food to make a recipe. There were also some other nonJapanese participants, so I made a copy of the recipe in English too. The
hardest part of the preparation was reserving the space. I wasnʼt sure there
would be anywhere near my school to hold the event, but a Japaneseacquaintance of mine had held a similar event at the Nishi-chiku Community
Center, so they helped me by reserving the space.

It rained the morning of the event, but 10 and more people including
those from Malaysia attended. The participants broke into groups andfollowed the recipe to make two of the most representative Malaysian foods,
nasi lemak and curry puffs. The sweetness and spiciness of the food varied
from group to group, but each group tried each otherʼs food and we wereable to have a fun meal together.
I realized through the event that food is one of the simplest and mosteveryday things we do, and one of the most ef fective ways to learn aboutanother culture is to learn about them through their food. A food class as away to learn about other cultures is easy to do and everyone enjoys it. Iʼmlooking forward to continuing cultural activities in the future.

Tan Cher Yen
Malaysia
Niigata University, Faculty of Engineering (Niigata City)
Spent one year in Hiroshima as part of an AFS intercultural
program. Currently belongs to an international volunteer circle
in college and is working actively in international exchange. In
addition to Malay and Japanese, he also speaks English andChinese.

3

Foreign Resident
Consultation Center ofNiigata
Of ficial Facebook Page

For those with questions about living in another country,
a place where you can seek help in your native language.

Foreign Resident Consultation Center of Niigata

The Foreign Resident Consultation
Center of Niigata is Open!
On October 1st, 2019, the Foreign Resident Consultation Center of Niigata opened toprovide information and consultations for foreign residents about their problems in avariety of languages. There are currently 17,675 foreign residents in Niigata (as of June2019 per a report by the Ministry of Justice), an increase of about 2,000 from the year
before. Looking at the data by nationality, the number of Vietnamese nationals has
increased rapidly, overtaking China as the second most populous group in theprefecture. Because of this situation, we are prepared to accept consultations in 7
languages with interpreters (including Chinese and Vietnamese) and other languages
with the help of interpretation software.
Because the scope of interpretations has a wide range including labor, education,
healthcare, and welfare, we cooperate with public services and specialists, and ourconsultation coordinators can quickly connect you to the right place to resolve yourproblem. We also have specialists come in periodically for some of the more common
consultation topics, such as visas, legal consultations, and education for children.
Everyone at the center is working hard every day to improve our ability to handle
consultations through training and by researching new materials. The center has abright orange theme, so please come anytime!

Sri Lanka

1%Brazil

2%

Nepal

2%

USA

2%

Thailand3%

Indonesia
４%

Other
15%

Korea
10%

Vietnam17%
Philippines
15%

By using interpreters and other interpretation software, we can handle
consultations in a total of 74 languages.

Statistics of foreign residents(as of June 2019 per a report by the Ministry of Justice)

Foreign Resident Consultation Center of Niigata● Consultation Scope：Residence/visa status, jobs, education,healthcare, welfare, otherconsultations and information provision about living in Japan ingeneral※ We do not translate official documents, assist with translation or interpretation for
individual or business purposes, or dispatch interpreters to other locations● Consultation Methods：We accept consultations in person, by phone, and by email※ Appointments not necessary, consultations are free (normal phone rates may apply)
Address: Niigata-shi, Chuo-ku, Bandaijima 5-1, Bandaijima Bldg. 2nd Floor

025-241-1881

Emai nia10@niigata-ia.or.jp
Phone● Consultation Hours：Monday-Friday, 10:00-17:00 (Reception ends at 16:30)● Consultation Hours by Language
Japanese
ChineseEnglishFilipino
Thai
Vietnamese
SpanishPortuguese
Other Languages

Monday10:00 〜 17:00

Tuesday
10:00 〜 17:00

10:00 〜 14:00
10:00 〜 14:00

Wednesday
10:00 〜 17:00
10:00 〜 17:00

Thursday
10:00 〜 17:00

Friday10:00 〜 17:00

10:00 〜 14:00

10:00 〜 17:00

10:00 〜 17:00
10:00 〜 16:00

10:00 〜 17:00

10:00 〜 14:00
10:00 〜 14:00
with the use of interpretation software※ These times are subject to change.
● Specialist Consultations: Specialists from different fields will be available for consultations
Education：Every Tuesday10:00 〜 17:00 (Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, English)
Administrative Scrivener (Gyosei-shoshi )：4th Wednesday of the Month 10:00 〜 17:00 (Japanese, Chinese)
Immigration Procedures：2nd Tuesday of the Month13:00 〜 17:00 (Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese)
Legal Consultation：3rd Thursday of Odd Months 13:00 〜 17:00 (Japanese, English, Spanish, Portuguese)※ Schedule subject to change.
※ Appointments prioritized for specialist consultations.

4

China
29%

Nguyen Thi Thu Ha
Began working at East Japan Welfare
Management Service Corporation in
April 2019. Thu Ha had an interest inJapanese and wanted to live overseas(away from her parents) and cameJapan right after graduating highschool. After studying at a language
school in Niigata, she studied
economics at Niigata Sangyo
University for four years. Her favorite
food is sushi, and her favorite sushi isengawa (the edge of a f lounderʼs f in).

We re coming to visit you!

Let scheck outa COMPANY!

Vol.2

In this column, we interview foreign nationals employed incompanies in Niigata. We look at the cultural differences in work
cultures, how the person is fitting in to the company and thecommunity as an individual and see their hard work in action.

This time, we visited the East Japan Welfare Management
Service Corporation.

Introducing Nguyen Thi Thu Ha
From Vietnam――Tell us about your current job.
The East Japan Welfare Management――What times do you feel are the mostfun at your job?

――How do you spend your holidays?
Recently Iʼve been attending international

Service Corporation Group is taking in a

I am most happy anytime I get to use my

exchange events. Thereʼs a Vietnameseclass of 18 Vietnamese technical interns forknowledge or things Iʼve learned up until

cooking event called “Betoaji” that Iʼve

the first time in 2020. I work for the humannow to help others. Also whenever anyone

been attending. A few days ago we maderesources / communications division, so

else is happy because of how Iʼve done mybanh xeo, which is a Vietnamese dishmy job is to of fer support for them so theyjob.

similar to Japanese okonomiyaki, andcan work without any issues. I am doing a
including making a manual for them aboutliving in Japan.
――What other duties do you have, besides
helping the technical support interns?

――What are the hardest things at yourjob?

yogurt black sticky rice pudding.
――Tell us about some of your goals for theJapanese. (She laughs.) Iʼve had to put

future.

together a lot of paperwork since starting,

I want to do my best at my job. I want toand I check on the internet as I work to

do my best to make sure our interns feelmake sure I use the right words. I also have

happy to be at our company. And I want

In addition to the manual, Iʼm also

my seniors check my work before submitting

to help them see not just the benefits ofhelping the employees at the facility that is

it. I also study Japanese through my work.

their job, but also the charms of Japan andgoing to be taking the interns in to makesure they know what to do. I visit periodicallyto let them know more about the newinterns and when they will arrive, in
addition to communicating about other――You sound like youʼre working hard!
What was the biggest change between
working and your life as a student?
The biggest change was in my own wayof Niigata, and help them find opportunities
to experience them.
――Do you have any words for exchange
students looking to find jobs in Japan?

of thinking. When I was a student, I always

Since you already made it this far, try toRecently we held a send-of f party infelt like I was only responsible for myself,

actively talk to others and interact with

Vietnam for the incoming interns. In addition

and if I made a mistake it was mine to deal

them. Youʼll meet many people and yourto interpreting between Japanese andwith. Working now, Iʼve realized that I havechance for a job will come. Just take one

Vietnamese, I also presented about ourto think about how my actions effect thosestep forward and meet others. Iʼm also

company in Vietnamese. I was very nervous,

around me, and that I have to behave

going to challenge myself to work hard at

but I was also happy to meet the newproperly.

my job.

things.

I N T E RV I E W

variety of preparation before they arrive,interns.

Thank you for your kindness!
This piece was suggested by director Keisuke Kubota.
He has worked to both open and operate care facilities and has helped
develop a total of 50 of them in Niigata and the Kanto region.
The company first started recruiting employees of foreign nationalities lastyear, starting with Ms. Thu Ha. Mr. Kubota said “At first, I felt like I had to act likethey were the same as the Japanese employees. But working together withthem, I found that they had no need to change their personalities or culture. I
started to feel like I should accept them as they are, and if they have a new
opinion, that I should work to incorporate that into our business.” Speaking
about working with those of other nationalities, Mr. Kubota said “I feel
motivated to grow, and you can see the results. I enjoy working with them.”(Keisuke Kubota (Pictured Right))

5

Enjoying Niigata in the Spring International Student Correspondent -Team BEGINThree foreign exchange students living away from their homes introduce their favorite places to see cherry blossoms in the spring!

Niigata City
If you want to do something fun in Japan in the spring, it has to be the cherry blossoms. In Niigata City, there are a number of great places to see them. My
recommendation is Hakusan Shrine. The Hakusan Festival is held during the time when you can see the cherry blossoms, so you can enjoy them both at the same time.
The Yasuragi-tei of the Shinano River is also close by, so you can enjoy the festival and then walk along the river to see the cherry blossoms all the way to Bandai. It makes
for a great walk. You can also see the cherry blossoms lit up at night. Itʼs easy to get there from Niigata Station, so please check it out!
That said, the shrine is a very famous place for the cherry blossoms, so a lot of people will be there ‒ it may be hard to take your time and look. If that happens to you,why not look for your own place to see them? Last year, I went to see the cherry blossoms near the grounds of an elementary school in the town where I live. Try to findyour own place to see the cherry blossoms this year! It can still be cold in April in Niigata, so make sure to check the weather before heading out!

Bak Sunghyun
Korea
Niigata University, Faculty of Law, 3rd Year
Skills: Making notes to summarizes classes, keeping her resume
up to date with her course presentations
Recently Learned Japanese Phrase:
agurabana (a small wide nose)
Popular Thing in Korea: Pengsoo ‒ a penguin character on
Koreaʼs education broadcasting system
Message: “Weʼve had a lot of cold weather! Please take care ofyourself, and have a nice spring!”

Te a m B E G I N

Gosen City

Baubekkyzy Zhansaya
Kazakhstan
Graduate Institute for
Entrepreneurial Studies, 2nd Year
Skills: Singing, Photography
Recently Learned Japanese Phrase:
ingaoho (karma)
Popular Thing in Kazakhstan: Social media(especially instagram), Japanese-style conveyor
belt sushi restaurant
Message: “Niigata is super fun!”My name is Saya, and I am from Kazakhstan, which is in the
middle of Eurasia. Iʼm studying for my MBA at the Graduate Institutefor Entrepreneurial Studies in Niigata. I like to travel, take pictures,and sing. Itʼs my second year in Niigata, and Iʼve been to all sorts ofplaces in the prefecture. Iʼm conf ident Iʼm enjoying Niigata morethan anyone!
I love Niigata, and I especially love Niigataʼs spring, because you
can see beautiful f lowers everywhere in the prefecture. The cherry
blossoms bloom around April, and itʼs fun to walk under the trees
at Hakusan Shrine or along the Yasuragi-tei or to watch them while
you think. Mid-April is also the time when you can see one of
Niigataʼs symbols, tulips. In Gosen, which is one of the places tulips
are grown, thereʼs a tulip festival every year. A field of over one anda half million tulips blooms like a colorful rug ‒ itʼs beautiful! Thenin May, the wisterias begin blossoming at the Northern Culture
Museum in Niigata City. You can enjoy some time underneath thegiant wisteria trellis. I love spending some time to enjoy the flowers.
I would love for everyone else to have a nice journey to see some of
the beautiful flowers this year!

Joetsu City
Iʼve come to appreciate the change of seasons in Niigata while studying as an exchange student at Nagaoka University. In
the summer I went to the ocean, which I had never seen in my home country of Mongolia, in the fall I saw the fall foliage,
and in the harsh winter I felt like I was home in Mongolia. I enjoy seeing the seasons pass in Niigata.
But of all of those, the way Niigata looks in the spring is what I remember the most. Last year, I went with my friends to the
Takada Cherry Blossom Festival, held in Takada Park in Joetsu. There were tons of cherry blossoms blooming in the park, andI had never see anything so beautiful in my life. I enjoyed not only the cherry blossoms, but also the booths and thefireworks. I had a great time with my friends from the afternoon to the evening while enjoying the cherry blossoms. Iʼmhoping to invite my parents to Japan this spring if I can. If my parents come to Niigata, Iʼm going to take them to the Takada
Cherry Blossom Festival. My mother loves flowers, so Iʼm sure she would enjoy experiencing the beautiful cherry blossoms in
Niigata. I want my parents to take a lot of pictures and enjoy the feeling of watching the cherry blossoms.

Erdenebat Nominerdene
Mongolia
Nagaoka University, Business
Administration Studies, 3rd year
Skills: Drawing, Cooking
Recently Learned Japanese Phrase: medatsu (to stand out), kokufuku(conquer, overcome) charai (gaudy), merihari (modulation), bucchake (tospeak frankly)
Popular Thing in Mongolia: PUBG Mobile, terahertz bracelets
Message: “ To all those in Niigata, I recommend warm socks madefrom Mongolian wool!”6

N I A Activity Report
We held our 2019 Exchange Student Job Search Support Seminar!
On November 1st, 2019, we held our 2019 Exchange Student Job Search Support
Seminar to help exchange students looking for jobs in Japan to learn basic information
about jobs, interview manners, and work visas. The event was held at Toki Messe, andwas attended by 82 students, 12 related planners, and 18 people from companies.
In the first lecture, “Japanese Job Searching ‒ Basic Knowledge for Exchange
Students,” we heard from Yuko Mizushina of Hello Work Niigataʼs New Graduate
Assistance division about the rules of searching for a job in Japan and interview
manners.
In the second lecture, “Visas for Exchange Students Looking for Jobs,” Daisuke
Yasumoto of the Tokyo Regional Immigration gave a simple explanation about visas forlooking for a job, and about entering jobs at a Japanese company.
In the second half of the seminar, we had participating business introduce
themselves. Each company gave an overview of their operations and what kind of
employees they were looking for. The companies were in business like recruiting, carefor the elderly, machinery manufacturing, printing, sales, and lodging. At the
networking event after the seminar, students asked questions to business they wereinterested in, and talked and exchanged information freely.

We held our 2019 Foreign Resident Emergency Support Training!
N I A AC T I V I T Y R E P O R T

On December 8th, we held our 2019 Foreign Resident Emergency Support Training at Toki
Messe, with 40 people attending (including three from other countries).
The first half was a lecture on the theme of “Activities to Support Foreign Residents
during Emergencies: Trajectory of the Chuetsu Earthquake” by Kazuhiko Takagi, Deputy
Representative Director of NPO Multicultural Symbiosis Manager National Council. He spoke
about the importance of providing adequate information for foreigners during disasters by
putting easy-to-understand symbols on places like evacuation areas and the importance ofmaking relationships with people in the area.
In the second half, two advisors spoke about the differences between responding toearthquakes and floods and about using “Easy Japanese” when helping foreigners, after
which each group spoke about eight examples related to “Disseminating Information andConsultation Methods during Disasters,”, sharing brought thoughts and methods to handle
problems. The participants all shared opinions from their positions.

2019 International Understanding Presentation Contest
We held the 14th International Understanding Presentation Contest on December 21st, 2019, at aconference room in Toki Messe (the Marine Hall). This year there were 9 teams in the junior highschool category and 11 in the high school category, and they spoke about world topics such as
poverty, environmental issues, and multiculturalism, presenting the findings of their research andinvestigation from their own viewpoints. This year, many groups focused on the problems withplastic waste, and many felt their knowledge about realizing a more sustainable society grew.
The Highest Award of Excellence in the junior high school category went to AB5, a team from
Murakami City Arakawa Junior High School, who presented ideas for international cooperation using
pagne fabrics from Benin in West Africa, and the Highest Award of Excellence in the high school
category went to HITOSHEEEEEZ, a team from Joetsu High School spoke about different value
systems around the world, and spoke at length about deepening multicultural understanding
through understanding these differences. These two winners will be going on a study tour in Taiwan
at the end of March.
【Junior High School Category】● Highest Award of ExcellenceAB5 (Murakami City Arakawa Junior High School) “International Cooperation Starting from Pagne”● Award of Excellence
Glocal Club Third Years (Niigata Prefectural Tsubame Secondary School) “Change the world! Our
Magic Support”
DEOKISHIRIBO-KAKUSAN (Niigata Meikun Junior High School) “My Normal or Your Normal?”● Judgeʼs Special Award
Sanjo Second Junior High School (Sanjo City Second Junior High School)“Is that something only Iʼm supposed to do? What is the responsibility of adults?”【High School Category】● Highest Award of Excellence
HITOSHEEEEEZ (Joetsu High School) “My Glasses, Your Glasses: Everyone is Different, Everyone isGood”● Award of Excellence
HIROISATO(Niigata High School) “New Omotenashi ”
AILA 2019 (Individual) “Knocking Out Japanese Prejudice”● Judgeʼs Special Award
TEAM-MERMAID (Individual) “Who do the Sea and the Land Belong To?”

Middle School Winners

High School Winners

AB5

HITOSHEEEEEZ

7

N I A Information
NIA Now Recruiting Patrons!
The Niigata International Association is currently seeking organizations and individuals to become
patrons, and help us support international cooperation and international exchange activities.
Membership Qualifications: A group/organization or individual who is in agreement with ourassociationʼs goals.
Membership Fees:
For organization memberships: ￥10,000 per organization, per f iscal year (one share or more)
For individual memberships: ￥3,000 per individual, per f iscal year (one share or more)
Recruitment period: year-round Period of Membership: Apr. 1, 2020‒ Mar. 31, 2021
○ Benefits for both organization/group memberships and individual memberships:
Receive our associationʼs publications, event information and flyers, the right to borrow nationalflags, traditional clothes, media from our library.
○ Benefits exclusive to organization/group memberships:
Use of Internationalization Project Aid Fund , access to our printers, the right to borrow a display at
our International Exchange Plaza.
○ Benefits exclusive to individual memberships: Discount passes for entry to the Niigata Prefectural
Art Museum, discounts to facilities/restaurants (etc.) around the prefecture○ To Apply: Please check the “Announcements” section of our homepage, or contact us at the number
below.
Niigata International Exchange PlazaN I A I N FOR M AT ION¡HOLA! from the JICA Niigata Desk
Hi! I am Yui Miya, and I took over the JICA Niigata Desk from last
October.
When I was in college, I fell in love with the beautiful ocean and set
foot in a developing country for the first time in the Republic of Palau.
This was my first time in a developing country, and the only image I
had was a negative one that it would be economically poorer thanJapan. But arriving, it was completely different ‒ I was moved by thefree way the people there lived. I continued on to graduate school tolearn more about international cooperation and wanting to know more
about the people who lived in other countries, I went to Ecuador as aJapan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer without any experience
working. I helped with ethical education for elementary and middle
schoolers.
I had many fun and dif ficult experiences in Ecuador. In the two years,
I felt like the people around me helped me as much or more than I
helped them. I became friends with many people who had a dif ferent
background than me, and I felt deeply that people of all countries will
come and work together if we donʼt put up walls between each other.
Iʼm looking forward to helping everyone to understand how big theworld is and how much fun international exchange can be through myposition with JICA!

A foreign exchange
student introduces
one of theirexperiences fromtheir life in Japanthrough manga!

Many streets andshops will
decorate to matchthe season before
seasonal holidays!

Vol. 4【 City of
Seasons 】(Taiwan)Japan Animation and Manga
College (JAM),
Manga Illustration MasterCourseThere are events all
through the year, so
it always stays busy!

I've heard
that!
Wow! Itreally feels
like
Halloween
in here!
You can reallyfeel the changeof the seasons!
It's really nice!

You're right!

Pen Name:

Lalamachiru

And it's not justtraditional holidays,
there are also events
for holidays fromother countries.

1

3

2

And
sometimes thedecorations
changeovernight!

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8

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