Photo/Illutration A Japanese language class for foreign residents (Provided by Isesaki city)

ISESAKI, Gunma Prefecture--Municipal authorities are offering a specialized education course to help foreign workers learn the rudiments of Japanese language as well as customs and conventions that might seem strange to them.

Teachers dispatched by the city to private companies provide two-hour lessons as part of a program to promote multiculturalism in local communities.

Foreign nationals from more than 60 countries live and work in Isesaki. Enhancing their ability to converse with the locals will help them to integrate better into Japanese society.

Officials said candidates eligible for the program must lack language skills for daily conversation and be aged 16 or older and living, working or studying in the municipality.

Employers of wannabe students must offer meeting spaces and other facilities as classrooms. Each lesson requires a minimum of five students.

One class lasts 2 hours and can be held up to 10 times.

The desired dates, including the preferred day of the week for the course, can be adjusted upon request.

Tuition per person is 3,000 yen ($20.60) for textbooks and other expenses.

The content of the program will be tailored to the students’ level of proficiency.

Common complaints from residents concern trash disposal and noise levels. Japanese often complain that foreign nationals are not fastidious about sorting their trash properly, city officials said.

For inquiries on the course, contact the city’s international division at 0270-27-2731.

Statistics from Gunma Prefecture show that 72,300 foreign residents from 115 countries and regions lived in the prefecture as of last December.

By municipality, Isesaki tops the list of villages, towns and cities with the largest non-Japanese populations in Gunma Prefecture. Foreign residents in Isesaki number about 15,100, or 7 percent of the municipality’s total population.

Related News