News in Easy English: Japan's governors ask for better support for foreigners
The national government often sees foreigners as "workers." But local governments see them as people living in the community, just like Japanese citizens. The governors want a new organization to manage multicultural policies in Japan.
The governors say that as more foreigners come to Japan, help with Japanese language and daily life is often left to municipalities. They say this is not just a problem for some areas, but "will clearly become a major national issue" in the future.
The governors want a new central group, different from the Immigration Services Agency, to manage these issues. They also want a new law to support both national and local multicultural policies. The governors say the national government should give more money to help local areas and share important information with foreign residents.
Japan has a shortage of workers, especially in the countryside. The governors say the new system for training and hiring foreign workers should help bring and keep more workers in these areas.
(Japanese original by Kentaro Mikami, Tokyo City News Department)
Vocabulary
governor: the leader of a prefecture in Japan
multicultural: including people from many countries and cultures
policy: a plan or rule made by leaders
municipality: a city, town or village with its own local government
Immigration Services Agency: a government office that manages people coming to live or work in Japan
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