News in Easy English: Japan city uses tablets to help people in many languages
OMITAMA, Ibaraki -- Omitama city started to use six tablets this month. The tablets have a translation app. People can use them at service counters.Re
Omitama city in Ibaraki started using six tablets this month. These tablets have a translation app for people to use at service counters. The city has seen an increase in foreign residents, with 2,375 from 36 different countries living there in April. Communication is sometimes difficult because people speak different languages.
The city hopes the translation app will help them communicate more easily. Omitama is home to 673 Indonesians, 608 Vietnamese, 194 Thais, 177 Chinese, and 124 Filipinos. The app is capable of translating text in 13 languages, including English, Chinese, Korean, and Indonesian. The city believes the app can assist about 60% of its foreign residents.
To use the app, a person speaks into the tablet, and the tablet translates the words into the chosen language, which is then displayed on the screen and spoken aloud. The tablets will cost the city 826,000 yen ($5,400). The city also plans to release a living guidebook for foreign nationals moving to Omitama, likely to be published this autumn.
The guidebook will include information on taxes, pensions, garbage disposal, and emergency procedures. While it is challenging to provide support in every language, an official from Omitama's general affairs division hopes that the translation app will lead to smoother communication among residents and city workers.
Written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
