South Wing
April.'20-Mar.'21
Published by Kagoshima International Association

Photo: Courtesy of Satsumasendai City (Koshiki Ohashi Bridge)

Easy Japanese Language Awareness Project
On October 6, 2020, we invited a Japanese language teacher whois active in the prefecture as a lecturer and held the “Easy Japanese
Understanding Class.”
The event saw thirty participants which included administrative
staff who support applications and procedures for foreign associations,
the Kagoshima Labor Bureau, the Kagoshima Branch Office of theFukuoka Immigration Bureau, the Board of Education, and the[A scene from the lecture]

Kagoshima Prefectural Visitors Bureau.
In the session, participants learned what “easy Japanese” is, itseffects, and what they should pay attention to when converting into “easy Japanese.” Then, they practiced converting
Japanese written in news articles into “easy Japanese” and compared their answers with the examples given by thelecturer.
The participants commented, “I have heard of easy Japanese, but it was difficult to actually make the conversions;”or “I would like to use the conversions when I send out information in the future.”

Workshop on Supporting Foreign Residents in Times of DisasterOn February 27, 2021, we held a workshop on “Training forCommunicating Information to Foreigners in Times of Disaster”.
Connecting online to a lecturer from the National Council ofMulticultural Managers, a non-profit organization, about 30 people
from local governments and various schools and organizations
learned practical “easy Japanese,” an easy-to-understand method ofcommunicating information. In the lecture, participants learned about【A scene from the workshop】“issues faced by foreigners in times of disaster and how to deal withthem,” “support activities for foreign victims in times of disaster,” and“easy Japanese.” In the workshop that followed, participants practiced re-writing into easy Japanese the notices used
at evacuation centers for the COVID-19 pandemic.
One participant said, “I learned that it is important to think about how to convey the message to others, rather thanbeing obsessed with easy Japanese.” We hope that this lecture will lead to the support of foreign residents in termsof information transmission in times of disaster and in times of peace.

1Japanese Language and Culture ClassWe held “The Japanese Language and Culture Class for ForeignResidents” from May 2020 to February 2021 to help foreigners living inKagoshima learn Japanese language and customs useful in daily life.
The classes comprised 60 sessions (30 daytime sessions onWednesdays, and 30 evening sessions on Thursdays). This year, inorder to prevent the spread of the COVID-19, the participants kept adistance from each other during the classes. The class was divided【Showing off his kendama skills】

into small groups, and the participants learned Japanese from various
approaches such as by learning vocabulary through reading, listening

to picture books, and by writing essays in order to be proactive in their writing.
In one session, each participant introduced themselves in Japanese by showing their hobbies or specialties, or byusing hand-drawn maps and illustrations.
Despite the restrictions due to COVID-19, the participants were highly motivated and seemed to enjoy talking witheach other using the Japanese they had learned.

The Japanese Language Chat Room
We held a total of 15 sessions of “The Japanese Language ChatRoom” for foreigners with a grasp of conversational Japanese, with theaim of helping them build mutual networks and improving Japanese
language skills.
In the first semester, guests and participants gathered for face-toface meetings; but from the second semester, we started using ZOOM
to conduct the meetings online, with participants speaking as guests. A
curator of Museum of the Meiji Restoration talked about the history ofKagoshima under the theme of “Satsuma Students,” and people fromthe Kagoshima Chuo Police Station, and an etiquette instructor[Participants are talking aboutJapanese manners]

provided useful information for living in Japan, and in Kagoshima. We
also had a foreign participant talk about how Japanese anime became
popular in the US. It has been a year of various changes with the newlifestyle, and we hope that Chat Room will become a place where people can interact with each other and be
motivated to learn Japanese.

～ Let’s talk about the world in Kagoshima ～ The 26th Japanese Speech Contest for Foreign Nationals
Seventeen foreign residents from seven countries and regions, who
are living in Kagoshima Prefecture, participated in the preliminary
rounds of this year’s Japanese speech contest, and ten of them fromfive countries presented their speeches in the final round held on
January 30, 2021. Mr. Bhusal Hari, from Nepal and a student at
Kamimura Gakuen College, won the Grand Prize for his speech titled,[The contestants and judges ofthe finals]“Marriage? Wait a moment!” Through his school life in Japan, Mr. Hari
developed self-confidence and began to think that he wanted to gain
more experience. Although his parents are concerned about his

approaching the marriageable age in Nepal, he expressed his strong desire to marry only after he has grown stronger,
both physically and mentally. The audience seemed to be gripped by the way the contestants talked about theirexperiences and thoughts in the Japanese that they had learned so far, and by how they vividly conveyed their hard
work in Japan through various experiences.
2Visiting Lectures by Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Alumni and International Students
This project, implemented by three organizations—the Supporting
Organisation of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) inKagoshima, the JOCV Kagoshima Alumni Association, and Kagoshima
International Association—dispatches returnee members of Japan Overseas
Cooperation Volunteers and international students living in Kagoshima
Prefecture as instructors to about 40 elementary and junior high schools[A scene from the class]each year. The purpose of this program is to allow students to learn about
international cooperation and understanding by listening to stories ofoverseas activities by Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers alumni, and by interacting with international students
and other foreigners. This year, in order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, instead of interactive classes,
lecturers used photos and videos to introduce their experiences, the culture of their countries, ethnic costumes, andother things that cannot be learned from textbooks. The students said, "I was surprised to see many differences fromJapanese schools,” or “I want to be active overseas as a member of the Japan Cooperation Volunteers in the future.”
It seems that the project was a good opportunity for them to look abroad and think about their future dreams.

International Understanding Classes by Foreign Residents
The purpose of this program is to have foreign residents in the prefecture
become lecturers through open recruitment, and to introduce their own
culture to Japanese citizens so that they can be actively involved in creating
a multicultural community. This year, we received a large number of[A scene from the lecture]applications from foreign residents. Among them, people from Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and thePhilippines provided lectures to introduce the culture of their respectiveregions.
In addition to introducing the basics of each region, the lectures provided
a variety of activities such as playing traditional instruments and making

small items using traditional cloth. Participants said, “I now want to visit the[A scene from the lecture]
places at least once!” or “It was fun to learn about different cultures.”In each lecture, the lecturer spoke about something that surprised or puzzled them when they came to Japan, andthe participants laughed and expressed their surprise. The lecture made the participants aware of Japanese culture
and customs, which are commonplace to Japanese but often confusing to foreigners.
We hope that this kind of lecture will help people realize a society where foreign residents and Japanese people
can mutually understand and respect each culture, and live together.

Learn about Multiculturalism Through Cooking
We had planned to hold a workshop for foreign residents of Kagoshima,and Japanese people, to learn about multicultural coexistence by cooking
together; but, in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19, we this year
received the cooperation of three foreign residents and made a video to beposted on our website.
[Shooting a scene of making
Chijimi, Korean pancakes]

Under the theme of “home cooking that can be easily prepared withingredients available in Kagoshima,” people from Korea, England, andHungary introduced the cuisine of their respective countries. They also

talked about the history of cooking, local people’s thoughts on cooking, ingredients, and manners of eating so thatthe participants could learn not only about cooking but also about the culture of their home countries.
The video is available on our website. We also encourage you to try making and tasting foreign home cooking at
home to experience the culture of each country.
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Information on the International Plaza-Bulletin board for event information, etc.
-Lending out national flags, ethnic costumes, maps, UNICEF videos, etc.
-Browsing of foreign language newspapers, books, magazines, etc.
-Chinese Lunchtime Talk (Tuesdays, 12:00-13:00) (Not available in 2020)-Korean Lunchtime Talk (every Wednesday, 12:30-13:30)-Lunchtime English Club (every Friday, 12:00-13:00)【Plaza】

If you have any questions about international exchange, or would like to register as a host family or language
volunteer, please feel free to stop by.

Consultation Desk for Foreign Residents
The Consultation Desk for Foreign Residents provides information and consultationin many languages to help foreign residents in Kagoshima quickly find appropriate
information and places to consult regarding residence status, employment, medicalcare, welfare, childbirth and child-rearing, and children’s education.
[Image of thePlace : Kagoshima International Association, 1st floor of Kagoshima Prefectural
consultation counter]
Citizens Exchange Center (14-50 Yamashita-cho, Kagoshima City)
Opening hours : Tuesday - Sunday, 9am - 5pm（If Monday is a national holiday, the office will be open. It will then beclosed on the following day.
The office is closed Dec. 29 - Jan. 3.
Method of consultation : face-to-face, telephone, e-mail, Facebook Messenger
TEL : 070-7662-4541 / E-mail: kiasoudan@gmail.com
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Kiasoudan
Facebook QRcode
Japanese, English, and Vietnamese are available at the consultation counter.
For other languages (Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, Indonesian, Nepali, Khmer, Thai, Myanmarese, Portuguese,Spanish, Malay, French, Russian, German, Italian, Mongolian, Sinhalese), the Multilingual Call Center will be used.
[Multilingual Consultation Centers for Specific Issues]〇About immigration and status of residence
The Immigration and Refugee Recognition Agency’s General Information Center for Foreign Residents
TEL: 0570-013904 / Available weekdays, 8:30am- 5:15pm / Available languages: English, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, etc.
〇About labor issues
1) Kagoshima Labor Bureau, Foreigner Labor Consultation Corner
TEL: 099-216-6100 / Available on Wednesdays, 9am- 4:30pm / Languages: Vietnamese
2) Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Consultation Service (for Foreign Workers)
Available languages: 13 languages / Each language has its own phone number. Please check the website for details.
https://www.check-roudou.mhlw.go.jp/soudan/foreigner.html※The above information is subject to change.
For the Consultation Desk, or enquiries regarding the International Exchange Plaza or this South Wing publication:
Kagoshima International Association
Kagoshima Prefectural Citizens Exchange Center 1F, 14-50 Yamashita-cho, Kagoshima City, Japan 892-0816
TEL: 099-221-6620 / FAX: 099-221-6643
HP: https://www.kiaweb.or.jp

E-mail: kia@kiaweb.or.jp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kagoshima.Intl.Assoc/

Plaza Opening Hours: Tue – Sun: 9:00~17:00
Closed on Mondays (If Monday is a public holiday, the office will be closed on Tuesday instead.)
Closed during the end-of-year period (29th December ~ 3rd January)4