Society

100 support centers for foreign workers to open

Dec 17 (NHK) - Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has revealed that the government plans to open about 100 support centers for foreign workers across Japan.

This will be part of comprehensive measures the country intends to draw up by the yearend, ahead of the implementation in April of the newly passed law to bring in more foreign workers.

Speaking in Fukuoka City on Sunday, Suga said he hopes to see such support centers in all prefectures, major cities, and municipalities where a large number of foreign workers reside. He said each center will have interpreters or translation systems.

Suga said the government will provide about 2 billion yen, the equivalent of about 17.6 million dollars, to local governments to open the centers.

Suga said the government plans to have companies assume responsibility for assigning guarantors when their workers rent apartments.

He said the government would also ensure that foreign workers will be able to sign mobile phone subscription contracts using their residence cards.

Suga also laid out plans to make it easier for foreigners to open a bank account and to get medical care by making multi-lingual services more widely available.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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