Vol.092016. 11NIALetter

Published by the Niigata International Association

The time is NOW!

CONTENTSFeature

Photo: International Student Exchange Club members appointment ceremony, fiscal 2016（For details,　inside→）

■ When Dec. 17, 2016 (Sat.), 12PM-5:30PM■ Venue International Meeting Room (Marine Hall) at Toki Messe (6-1 Bandaijima, Chuo-ku, Niigata-shi)■ Applications State clearly, “I would like to watch the presentation contest,” include the following information, and submit your application by Dec. 9 (Fri.) via fax or e-mail. The application is also available from the website. 1. Name of school or organization (not required for those attending privately)2. Address of representative, phone number, and e-mail address3. Number of spectators 4. Names of all spectator applicants5. Mixer attendance (“yes” or “no” and number of attendants) (held afterward; free entry)■ Send applications to… Niigata International Association Fax: 025-249-8122 E-mail: nia21c@niigata-ia.or.jp■ Presentation contest website http://www.niigata-ia.or.jp/jp/ct/000_precon/

AnnouncementNow accepting spectator applications for the Fiscal 2016 International Understanding Presentation Contest!　

【ＮＩＡ NEWS】

【NIA Activity Report】

Bring the world closer together as an international exchange volunteer

*We will only contact you in the event that we have reached capacity.

We will be holding a presentation contest on international education with teams of junior high school students and high school students from Niigata Prefecture. Come and watch these passionate presentations on world peace, international cooperation, and multicultural understanding.　

NEW!

The time is NOW!Bring the world closer together as an international exchange volunteer

● Internat ional Student Exchange Club members are born!● Interview: Niigata Prefecture’s coordinators for international relations (CIR)

● Japanese Speech Contest in Mongolia● International Education Seminar● Summer Vacation International Plaza Fair

① What is an international exchange volunteer?② International exchange volunteer activities report

Prefecture-wide medical interpretation training has begun!

The time is NOW! Bring the world closer together as an international exchange volunteerFEATURE

With the approach of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, we are seeing more volunteers who help foreigners living in Japan in the media. As a result, international awareness is increasing and people are paying more attention to volunteer activities. We are also seeing more people who want to get involved in these activities. In this issue, we will be introducing international exchange volunteers in Niigata Prefecture and the kinds of projects and activities they undertake.

These volunteers provide support for foreigners who become victims of disasters, like earthquakes. In such emergency situations, they provide necessary information by translating into foreign languages or simple Japanese* and provide interpreta-tion support when necessary at evacuation areas for victims. There is also “Support for Foreigners in Times of Disaster Training” for registered volunteers and related persons (e.g., civil servants, Social Welfare Council heads, etc.). In this training, volunteers prepare for anything by participating in simulations that pose hypothetical disaster scenarios that require multilingual information translations and where they must coordinate to solve problems.

These volunteers help with international exchange event interpretation and handle translations of simple informational documents. There are various levels of interpretation required, such as multilingual reception work and MC work. We also hold the “Volunteer Interpreters and Transla-tors Seminar” to help registered volunteers and those who are considering registering raise their levels.

１．Interpretation and Translation Volunteer 2.Earth Supporter These volunteers help with international exchange event management, including reception and setup. Earth Supporters (ground support) are not required to have foreign language ability. We have Earth Supporters who are doing this as a stepping stone to interpretation and translation, and we have others who are more interested in helping with interna-tional exchange events, regardless of their foreign language abilities.

①What is an international exchange volunteer? At the Niigata International Association, we facilitate international exchange and international understanding by gathering people from the prefecture who have an interest in international exchange and/or volunteer work and by having asking for their help with international exchange events in the prefecture as well projects and events that require international cooperation. Volunteers are split into the following 3 types. If you find that one or more of them suits you, you can register as such with us.

3.Multilingual Disaster Support Volunteers

▲Volunteer group for the fiscal 2015 Support for Foreigners in Times of Disaster Training course

▲Earth Supporters helping at reception for the fiscal 2016 international understanding seminar

Requirements:○Age: 18 and up○Language skills: Capable of handling everyday conversation interpretation and document translation that does not require technical knowledgeExample activities:・Medical consultation meetings for residents of foreign nationalities・Heilongjiang sports exchange activities・10th anniversary celebration of the start of the Niigata-Ulsan exchange agreement

Requirements:○Age: 18 and up○Language skills: Not requiredExample activities:・Summer vacation international exchange plaza fair・International understanding seminar “Learning About Asia!”・International Understanding Presentation Contest

Requirements:○ Age: 18 and up○ Language skills: Capable of handling everyday conversation interpretation and document translation that does not require technical knowledge. (Language skills not required for those who wish to provide support in simple Japanese.)

*Simple Japanese: Japanese that is considerate of non-native speakers. Emphasizes the use of simple words and phrases so that foreigners can understand without difficulty.

②International Exchange Volunteer Activities Report

The Niigata International Association is looking for volunteers who want to work with us to promote interna-tional exchange and international understanding throughout the prefecture! Experience the international exchange as a volunteer. Apply today!

I am a volunteer interpreter and translator for the Niigata Interna-tional Association. I am involved in a variety of international events in Niigata Prefecture. Most recently, I interpreted at the international projection mapping competition Niigata Minatopika 2016 for the guest creator and judge Casber U Ka Kit, from Macao, who won last year’s Grand Prix. The competition lasted four days, from Sept. 16 to 19, and I inter-preted on Sept. 18 and 19. I interpreted on stage for the guest speech and the results. I was really nervous since it was my first time interpreting in front of so many people, but it was an incredible opportunity for my interpreting career. Casber U Ka Kit was very interested in Niigata’s famous rice, sasadango, and sake. Foreign visitors find Niigata to be an interesting place. Conveying clearly how wonderful Niigata Prefecture is to foreigners is a very important part of a volunteer interpreter’s role. Niigata City is the largest designated city along the coast of the Sea of Japan, and its international activities are only going to continue to grow. Interpreters bear the responsibility of connecting foreign nations with Niigata, and I hope to see us improve our interpretation skills and get better at promoting Niigata Prefecture so that we can contribute to its international exchange.

We asked two current NIA international exchange volunteers, Ms. Arai and Mr. Ikarashi, to share their own volunteer experi-ences with us.

When I was in my 20s, I participated in the now defunct Management and Coor-dination Agency’s “Seinen no Fune” (lit., Youths’ Boat), which took us around East and Southwest Asia (Singapore, India, Pakistan, etc.). I learned a lot about the people who lived there, their cultures, and how they thought, and I spent a long time after returning home without the opportunity to take advantage of what I learned. One day, I found out that the Niigata International Association was looking for international exchange volunteers, so I applied to be an Earth Supporter. This must be 20 years ago now, but I started out by helping with things like a Chinese food stand at Furusato Village Road Station and helping with a costume stand by the Niigata City bus center where people could try on traditional outfits from other countries and have their pictures taken. Ever since around 10 years ago, I have been helping with the International Under-standing Presentation Contest. I help by handling the video recording, by taking care of the mic and desk setup on the stage, by setting up the judges’ area, by prepping for the mixer, by cleaning up afterward, and more.While I help out on stage, I see the presentations the junior high students and the

high school students have prepared, and as they talk about their volunteer activities helping less fortunate children abroad and explanations of the results of their surveys on international exchange issues, I always think about how impressive these young men and women are. What I find particularly impressive is how they do not simply rely on books, the internet, and surveys from their neighborhoods; they think about what they can do at school to contribute to international exchange and put their ideas into practice. To give an example, at one school, they ask all the students to contribute their PET bottle caps, and they use the earnings to send things that will be of use to less fortunate children abroad. By volunteering, you get to meet people you never would normally, you learn how there are many different ways of thinking, and you broaden your own outlook. I look forward to helping out however I can as a volunteer in the future as well.

Join us! Become an international exchange volunteer!

Download the volunteer registration form from our website, fill in the required information, and submit it to us. You can also register as both an interpretation and translation volunteer and an Earth Supporter volunteer if you like.

How to Register【 】

Interpretation and Translation Volunteer Yuko Arai

Earth SupporterMasato　Ikarashi

Website: http://www.niigata-ia.or.jp/jp/index.html

Prefecture-wide medical interpretation training has begun!

Committee on Medical Interpreters for Niigata Representative Jun Sakaguchi

The Committee on Medical Interpreters for Niigata (COMIS Niigata) (represented by Jun Sakaguchi, professor at the University of Niigata Prefecture) aims to create a system for medical interpreter dispatch across the prefecture and is currently holding a medical interpretation training course. Both the Niigata International Association and the Niigata City International Exchange Foundation are providing support for this training. The training currently covers English and Chinese medical interpretation and started in May 2016, with one training session per month. The lectures cover prepar-ing oneself for medical interpretation, proper conduct around patients, relevant medical knowledge, insurance systems, etc. Starting in September, the course introduced interpretation simulations. This training ends in November, but the participants will continue to strive to improve them-selves, and we expect them to be a big help at medical institutions when they treat foreigners. We asked Representative Sakaguchi of COMIS Niigata what he thinks about the importance of having a system for dispatching medical interpret-ers in areas that are becoming more international.

As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics draw ever closer, more and more consideration is being given to the topic of internationalization in medical institutions and how they are going to treat foreign tourists who do not speak Japanese when they need medical attention. We see most of the improvements happening in major hospitals in Tokyo and the Chukyo and Kansai areas, where some have rooms specifically for providing foreign language medical support, and we are also seeing the number of hospitals with permanent medical interpretation staff on the rise. Medical interpretation requires training that differs from business and meeting interpretation. Doctors can handle conversational English relatively well, so it is possible for them to treat patients from English-speaking countries, but even setting aside the exam itself, appointment scheduling, reception, the medical history form, medical tests, payment, medical certificate(s), explanations of medication(s), and procedures for admission and discharge make handling these patients very difficult. There are many things for which they need an interpreter. In recent years, there has been an upward trend in the number of people from Asia visiting and living in Japan, and particularly in

Tokyo, there has been a greater need for interpretation in Indonesian, Vietnamese, Nepali, Burmese, and other languages. In order to provide support in languages from all over the world, some sort of intermediary institution for medical interpre-tation is necessary on the national level, but there is also a need for regional training and dispatch systems that reflect the needs of those regions. Even now, there are many patients who live in Japan who do not speak much Japanese and request a medical interpreter when they visit a medical institution. Looking for a medical interpreter is difficult for patients and medical institutions alike, and because they are unsure how much it would cost, patients rely on family and friends and even employees of their local international exchange organization. There are also cases where said family member of friend is unable to properly interpret disease names, admission procedures, or payment, so there is a regional need for interpreters with medical interpretation knowledge who can be objective. There are also concerns from both sides about health information being shared with total strangers, which makes an official medical interpretation dispatch system a necessity to quell these worries. Interpreters do not just speak the language; they have medical ethics and know medical terminology. They also understand what the medical culture is like in that person’s home country. This is why they are necessary, and there contin-ues to be greater consideration given to training medical interpreters and creating an organization with a system for dispatching them. Unfortunately, local governments and medical institutions are aware of medical interpretation systems but because of the nature of bureaucratic organization structuring, there are many issues at play. The reason I am so adamant about creating a medical interpretation system is that we must guarantee patient rights, as stated in the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Lisbon on the Rights of the Patient, and I also believe that the creation of a medical interpretation system will play a major role in the internationalization of the entire prefecture. Looking at it from the perspective of Niigata’s international economic interests, it is a necessity that will allow us to receive businesspeople from abroad; will accommodate foreign companies that wish to enter our market; and will create an environment in which foreign businesspeople can conduct business. If we do not get businesspeople to move their families to Niigata, international business in Niigata will not grow. Even so, businesspeople are not the only important point here. We need an environment that is fully functional for foreigners, especially in the medical and educational sectors. Niigata is a short Shinkansen ride away from Tokyo (you can make the trip here and back in a day), but if we want to become a place for international business, we must absolutely have a high standard of living. If Niigata Prefecture aims to become an international area, we will need international travel routes, but we will also need to provide such a standard of living for foreigners. A medical interpretation system can help with this, but Niigata Prefecture’s initiatives are lagging behind. With the help of people in medicine and volunteers who understand international exchange, we established COMIS Niigata in order to create an official dispatch system for medical interpreters and to train them. With the cooperation of the Niigata International Association and the Niigata City International Exchange Foundation, we started a 7-month medical interpreter training course in May of this year. The training is offered for both English and Chinese, and we have around 40 participants in the course. We are currently making preparations to offer training in hospitals for those who complete the course, with the objective of dispatching medical interpreters to medical institutions in Niigata City starting next fiscal year. We are interested in holding this medical interpretation training course again next year, and we would like to ask for financial support from relevant persons.

NEW!

International Student Exchange Club members are born!

To help further international activities and develop an even more multicultural society, the Niigata International Association enlisted the help of international students in colleges throughout the prefecture. Certain international students, some recommended by their universities and some selected via a panel of judges, were selected as members of the International Student Exchange Club. This is a new initiative as of fiscal 2016 and includes international students from Asia who are motivated and proactive in pursuing international exchange opportunities and projects on multicultural coexistence. These are people from whom we hope to see even greater contributions to the prefecture’s international exchange through the economic support their activities offer. This fiscal year, we had 20 students, from countries like Vietnam, China, and Mongolia, become International Student Exchange Club members. We ask club members to participate in and help with international exchange events in the prefecture as much as possible. At the appointment ceremony, our chairman handed them their certificates of appoint-ment, where they each said a little something about their what has them excited and where they formed bonds with their fellow appointees. Finally, they made a vow to continue their hard work. If you have an international exchange event planned, please make use of these club members. You can find a list of their names on our website. When you contact them, please do so via e-mail. They can communicate in Japanese.

NIA NEWS

Interview: Coordinators for International Relations (CIR) in the Niigata Prefectural Office

There are currently CIRs from the United States, Russia, South Korea, Vietnam, China, and Mongolia in the International Affairs Division of the Niigata Prefectural Office. Here, we introduce the two most recent arrivals from Russia and China.

1. Please introduce yourself. My name is Ekaterina. I was born in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and I graduated from the Siberian Federal University in 2012 with a double major in Japanese and English. I played volleyball from the time I was in middle school through college and played in both school and club matches. It was a lot of fun, and it’s very nostalgic for me now. When I have time, I play video games. I especially enjoy games where you have to solve puzzles and games with interesting stories.2. What about your home country makes you proud? Russian literature stands out, of course. I don’t just mean its classical literature either, like Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky. There are also easier to read books that foreigners studying Russian could enjoy. For instance, there’s Saltykov-Shchedrin’s fairy tales, Gogol’s stories, and Krylov’s fables. Russia also has beatiful nature and tourist spots. Because Russia is so large, it has a great many beautiful places. For example, it has Peterhof Palace on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg, the wooden churches on Khizi Island, Lake Baikal, and the volcanoes of Kamchatka. These four places are all registered as world heritage sites.3. Have you been surprised by any differences in culture and/or customs while living in Japan? What do you like most about Niigata? When I arrived, I had already been to Japan several times for work and study abroad, so there hasn't been anything shocking in terms of culture, customs, or work. This is, however, my first time in Niigata, and I have noticed a lot of interesting things. Furumachi’s atmosphere is great for taking walks, and I like Bandai at night, with all of its colorful lights. Hakusan Park, by Hakusan Shrine, feels cool even on hot days. I would spend time at Sekiya Beach on the weekends in summer. The water is clear, and it felt so good to swim in the Sea of Japan. It’s only been two months since I arrived, but I’m certain that I’ll come to like many more places as I explore.4. Based on your own experiences, do you have any advice you could share with us on learning a foreign language and handling cross-cultural communication? I believe it’s important when learning a foreign language not just to study its words but also that country’s culture. If you don’t have the opportunity to experience it in daily life, you can watch movies and TV shows that show daily life in that country or read books or blogs by native speakers. You learn the language this way and also absorb the culture. You can watch anime or read manga to learn about school classes, public transportation, festivals, food, and more so that they all start to feel like common knowledge to you.

1. Please introduce yourself. Hi, my name is Hongxia Cai. My first name Hongxia (紅霞) has the same meaning in Japanese as it does in Chinese: dusk, when the clouds take on a red color. I’m from Heilongjiang, in the northernmost part of China, where it drops below -30 degrees Celsius in winter. I like traveling and watching movies. I am currently a coordinator for international relations in the International Affairs Division at the Niigata Prefectural Office. I look forward to making lots of friends here.2. What about your home country makes you proud? The Rio 2016 Olympics just finished in August, and China took all the gold medals for table tennis in both singles and teams for men and in both singles and teams for women. China is famous for being the kingdom of table tennis, and the sport enjoys great popularity among the people. I’m very proud that my home is the strongest at table tennis in the world (although being too strong is a problem in and of itself…). I hope to see even more people having fun with table tennis in the future.3. Have you been surprised by any differences in culture and/or customs while living in Japan? What do you like most about Niigata? Niigata is quiet, and it lets me relax. I really like it. I find it easier to live in Niigata than cities like Tokyo and Osaka. The food, like the rice and fruits, are really tasty, and it faces the Sea of Japan, so you can catch lots of tasty fish too. There are places all over the prefecture where you can enjoy the scenery that comes with the changing of the seasons. I’m so happy that I get to live in such a wonderful place.4. Based on your own experiences, do you have any advice you could share with us on learning a foreign language and handling cross-cultural communication? I think it’s the person-to-person exchange that’s most important. Through this person-to-person communication, you learn the words and phrases that people use instead of the set phrases you find in textbooks. I think that watching that country’s TV shows is another good way of learning. You get listening practice, and you also learn about its popular topics and ways of life. If you learn the words you hear in these shows, you’ll start to be able to converse little by little.

● Ekaterina Efimova (Russia)

● Hongxia Cai (China)

Appointment ceremony▲(September 2016)

Ekaterina’s self-portrait▲

Hongxia’s Chinese origami▲

The 2016 Niigata Awards Japanese speech contest was held in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia on September 16, 2016. This contest has been held twice a year since 2014 in Mongolia, with 11 participants delivering presentations on the theme “Why I learn Japanese.” 200 people showed up to listen to the presentations, showing just how much interest there is in Japanese in Mongolia. During the intermission, there was a video of Niigata Prefecture playing while people tried rice balls prepared by members of the Mongolia-Niigata Friendship Association, which is itself composed of Mongolian people who studied abroad in Niigata. The video and the rice balls were very helpful in promoting Niigata Prefecture in Mongolia. The 3 winners and the 1 honorary mention were invited to visit Niigata next spring. We look forward to seeing how they contribute to the exchange between Mongolia and Niigata Prefecture in the future after this opportunity to experience the nature and culture of Niigata for themselves.

International Education SeminarInternational Education Seminar

Published by the Niigata International AssociationBandaijima Bldg. (Toki Messe) 2nd floor, 5-1 Bandaijima, Chuo-ku, Niigata City 950-0078Phone: 025-290-5650Fax: 025-249-8122　E-mail: nia21c@niigata-ia.or.jp Website: http://www.niigata-ia.or.jp/

Japanese Speech Contest in Mongolia

The international education seminar “The Changing Lifestyles of Youths” was held on August 19 at the Niigata Prefectural Education Center for teachers and related staff in the prefecture, and approximately 60 people participated. In the first half, teacher and director of the Japan Association for International Education Hiromi Ishimori gave a lecture and held a mini workshop that highlighted the importance of international education and gave concrete examples. The latter half was composed of a panel discussion from elemen-tary, junior high, and high school instructors that talked about methods that go beyond textbooks and gave real life examples. They also introduced a number of resources related to international education and shared informa-tion that participants could put into practice immediately. Participants had this to say about the seminar: “It made me feel like interna-tional education is equally about life,” and “I think being respectful of diversity is going to become even more important. I want to do my part to help.”

Summer Vacation International Plaza Fair

The Summer Vacation International Plaza Fair was held in the Niigata International Plaza from July 23 to August 28. There were instruments, a quiz on the olympics, a crafts corner, and even a spot where you could try on traditional clothes from other cultures. While it was open, it saw 2,000 visitors, both children and their families. Also a part of the fair, there were classes held on culture and kids’ games from across the world. There were 3 classes in total, cover-ing China, the US, and South Korea (US and South Korea presented by coordinators for international relations). They shared with the kids their own country’s games and crafts. The kids and their families had a great time learning about other cultures through these games and activities.

NIA Activity Report

NIAＦａｃｅｂｏｏｋ

《Winners’ Speeches》Sanchir -Uya (National University of Mongolia) I participated in a composition contest that sent the winners to Japan, but I did not win, and it made me depressed. There are times when failure presents great opportunities. My failure was the catalyst that made me study Japanese very seriously. In the future, I will study abroad in Japan based on my own merits; I will learn corporate law; and I will start my own company.Uranchimeg (Mongolian University of Science and Technology) Japan’s development following the war was thanks to engineers. For me, learning Japanese is but the first step on the way to achieving my dreams. When I was in a slump, my teacher encouraged me, “A person’s growth is like a staircase.” The flat parts are your preparation for growth. I want to become an engineer and improve the state of electric power in Mongolia.Tsend-Ayush (Mongolian University of Science and Technology) I have seen a small number of people handling large amounts of garbage with machines at Japanese garbage processing plants. Mongolia used to be an incredible country; now it is only a country of debt. I believe that the key to development in Mongolia is mechanical engineering. I want to learn mechanical engineering in Japan, become an engineer, and help Mongolia grow.

Sanchir-Uya