To Foreign Nationals
To Foreign Nationals
The Mito City International Association is working to create a city that makes living easier for people with different national backgrounds, languages, and cultures. We will deliver practical tips for your daily life.
Guidebook of Daily Life
Living Guidebook for Foreign Residents in Mito
【For Use】
This is the guidebook full of useful information for foreign residents to live happily and comfortably in Mito.
Updated: February 2021
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Information
【Providing Maps in English】
We provide Mito City maps with information written in English.
Please ask for details if you would like to have one.
For inquiries >>
【Hearing Foreign Residents】
We are always ready to listen to voices of foreign residents in Mito, any needs or advice as well as feedback on our activities, so that we can incorporate them in our future activities.
Please ask for details if you have any requests or views to share.
For inquiries >>
【Japanese Language Volunteers for Children】
Volunteers teach children of foreign residents in Mito needing language support the Japanese language at the Mito International Center.
Please ask for details if you are interested.
For inquiries >>
【Japanese Language Volunteers for Children (Sekirei no Kai)】
In accordance with the revised “Immigration Control Act,” effective since June 1990, foreign nationals of Japanese ancestry became qualified to acquire the status of residence as permanent residents, and more foreign nationals started living in Japan.
Along with a rapid increase in the number of foreign residents, more children of foreign nationals were seen studying in school in Mito as well. In the course of Japanese students and foreign students studying together in a classroom, voices requesting language support for foreign students were raised from both teachers and students. Thus, a group of volunteers was established in 1999 to support these foreign students with their native languages other than Japanese.
The group was named “Sekirei no Kai” after white wagtails, the bird of Mito City. Based at the Mito International Center, we teach the Japanese language to foreign children who came to Japan for various reasons.
Such children, attending school, tend to feel out of place in a very different environment, lonely without friends and confused due to the language barrier, and are often stressed out and very anxious experiencing the different climate and customs. Standing close to these school children we try our very best to tutor them in the hope that each of them will be able to build a comfortable life in a different culture.
We are confident that our voluntary activities are contributing to not only Japanese language education but also mental health care of these foreign children. It is our delight and encouragement to see their sparkling eyes when they are gradually settled and motivated to learn or when they are emotionally accessible.
Since the start of our activity, we have studied together along with foreign school children and have helped them make their own future paths successfully, for example, to senior high school. We know that someday in the future they will be working for the benefits of Japanese society. We would very much appreciate continued warm support and cooperation from the communities and the administration, so that they can feel at ease, if not more, and even happier in Mito.
| Purpose | To provide voluntary support in the Japanese language for “children who do not use Japanese as their primary language” |
|---|---|
| Start Date of Activities | February 1999 |
| Operating Base | Mito International Center (※tutoring sessions for school children during summer and training sessions for members to improve tutoring skills in Japanese) |
| Activity Details | ◇ Eligible Persons: children with foreign citizenships, children holding Japanese nationality but unable to understand Japanese for some reason, or returnee children who are attending elementary or junior high school in Mito ◇ Style of class: one-to-one tutoring |
| Others | ◇ Every Thursday: periodic meeting (liaison among members and training sessions for members to improve tutoring skills in Japanese) ◇Participation in workshops on Japanese language education |
【Japanese Language Class for Children】
| Open | Every Sunday, 10:00am-11:30am |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | Children of elementary or junior high school in Mito whose native languages are other than Japanese |
【Fire Drill and Disaster Preparedness Lecture for Foreign Residents】
Japan is prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. Not to panic during a disaster, it is important to make necessary preparations and to experience disaster drills on a regular basis.
At the Mito International Center, fire drills and disaster preparedness lectures are conducted with a view to providing foreign residents basic disaster prevention knowledge on how to evacuate and extinguish fire at the initial stage. Classroom lectures to learn fundamental safety knowledge in case of a large earthquake or fire are held in addition to the fire drill including evacuation, use of the fire extinguisher and descent device, etc. In a reality-based fire simulation drill, participants are earnestly engaged in the tasks.
- Event schedule : twice a year (in June and December)
- Place: Mito International Center
- Participants: foreign residents, center visitors, employees, etc.
Actual Drills
Drill with fire extinguishers
“Fire!” Extinguishing a fire at the initial stage
Drill with fire hydrants
“Turn on the water!”
Descent from fire escape equipment
CPR workshop
Practice using AED
Cardiac massage and artificial respiration
Determine whether someone is conscious and securing of the airway
