EDITORIAL BOARDS
REVIEWERS
FOCUS AND SCOPE
PUBLICATION ETHICS
AUTHOR GUIDELINES
PEER REVIEW PROCESS
FEES
SUBMIT AN ARTICLE
ARTICLE TEMPLATEMultilingualization on the Current Japanese Prefectural Government Web Pages: The Support Status of Easy Japanese for Foreigners
Abstract
The multilingualization of Web sites with high quality is essential due to the number of foreigners residing in Japan increasing, web pages need to be translated to obtain information. In this study, we conducted a survey to clarify the current status of language descriptions, including easy Japanese, on prefectural government Web pages. The survey method was to record the language tabs of each prefectural government's Web page and to investigate the number of prefectures that had a tab for easy Japanese in their language tabs. There were 47 Prefectural Government Web Pages in Japan observed based on the availability of language options. As a result, we found that 6 Prefectural Government Web Pages had easy Japanese pages. The six web pages were Tochigi Prefecture, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Yamanashi Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture. It found that the notation of easy Japanese was different in each prefecture. The results suggest that the easy Japanese web pages are useful not only for children and non-native speakers of Japanese but also for people with disabilities. In the future, it is important to examine whether easy Japanese really functions as easy Japanese and makes it easier to obtain information.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Carroll, T. (2010). Local Government Websites in Japan: International, Multicultural, Multilingual? Japanese Studies, 30(3), 373–392. doi:10.1080/10371397.2010.518942
Fukuoka Prefectural Government. (n.d.). Fukuoka Prefectural Government Website. Retrieved December 22, 2023 from https://www.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp/
Fukuoka Prefectural Government. (2024). Fukuoka ken zaitaku iryou kaigo shokuin kasuhara soudan sentaa [Fukuoka Prefecture Home Healthcare and Nursing Care Worker Harassment Consultation Center]. Retrieved from https://tsutaeru.cloud/easy.php?uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pref.fukuoka.lg.jp%2F
Gottlieb, N. (2001). Language and disability in Japan. Disability & Society, 16(7), 981-995. DOI: 10.1080/09687590120097863
Gottlieb, N. (2018). Multilingual information for foreign residents in Japan: a survey of government initiatives. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2018(251), 131–149. doi:10.1515/ijsl-2018-0007
Grosjean, F. (2013). Bilingualism: A short introduction. In F. Grosjean & P. Li (Eds.), The psycholinguistics of bilingualism (pp. 5–25). Chichester, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell.
Hiramatsu, Y. & Ito, A. (2018). Saigai-ji ni okeru jouhou shien shisutemu kara kousatsu suru gendai shakai no jouhou dentatsu no kadai ―choukaku shougai-sha jouhou shien kara yunibaasaru dezain tenkai e― [Challenges of information transmission in modern society considered from the perspective of support systems during disasters - From information support for the hearing impaired to the development of universal design)]. Chuo University Economic Research Institute Annual Report, 575-605.
Hyogo Prefectural Government. (2021). Welcome to the Website of Hyogo Prefectural Government. Retrieved from https://web.pref.hyogo.lg.jp/sr13/e-japanese/e-japanese.html
Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs. (2020). Zairyuu shien no tame no yasashii nihongo gaidorain [Guidelines for Easy Japanese for Residence Assistance]. Retrieved December 15, 2023 from https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/kokugo_nihongo/kyoiku/pdf/92484001_01.pdf
Japan Immigration Supervision Agency. (2022). Ryou wa 4-nen 6 gatsumatsu genzai ni okeru zairyuu gaikoku ninzuu ni tsuite [Regarding the number of foreign residents as of the end of June 2020]. Retrieved December 9, 2023 from https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/press/13_00028.html
Japan Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (formerly Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications). (2020). Tabunkakyousei no suishin ni kansuru kenkyuu kaihoukokusho ~ chiiki ni okeru tabunkakyousei no saranaru suishin ni tsuite ~ [Report of the Study Group on the Promotion of Multicultural Conviviality - Further Promotion of Multicultural Conviviality in the Region]. Retrieved December 18, 2023 from https://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/11573918/www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000706215.pdf
Japan National Tourism Organization. (2023). October 2023 Estimates (November 15, 2023). Retrieved December 18, 2023 from https://www.jnto.go.jp/statistics/data/20231115_monthly.pdf
Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. (2020). Zairyuu shien no tame no yasashī nihongo gaidorain [Easy Japanese guidelines for residence support]. Retrieved December 15, 2023 from https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/kokugo_nihongo/kyoiku/pdf/92484001_01.pdf
Kagoshima Prefectural Government. (n.d.). Kagoshima Prefectural Government Website. Retrieved December 11, 2023 from https://www.pref.kagoshima.jp/
Kawauchi, N. (2021). Shinsai-ji ni okeru choukaku shougai-sha no jouhou juju no kadai ― hito to hito to no kakawari to komyunikeeshon no shiten kara [Issues of information exchange for hearing-impaired people during earthquake disasters - From the perspective of interpersonal relationships and communication]. Aoyama Prefectural University of Insurance Journal, 12, 11-19.
Kusunoki, R., & Hashimoto, K. (2022). Is ‘Easy Japanese’a Language Option? Local Responses to the Increasing Foreign Resident Population from Southeast Asia. Asian Studies Review, 46(4), 613-630.
Li, W. (2018). Research perspectives on bilingualism and multilingualism. In W. Li & M. Moyer (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of research methods on bilingualism and multilingualism (pp. 3–17). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Maher, J., & Nakayama, A. (2003) Language education in Japan: The multicultural challenge. In Jill Bourne & Euan Reid (eds.), World yearbook of education 2003, 127–139. London: Kogan Page.
Miyata, R. (2020). Nihon ni okeru jichitai weebusaito no tagengoka no genkyou to kadai [Current status and challenges of multilingualization of local government websites in Japan]. Interpretation and Translation Research, 20.
Nakajima, T. (2021). Kategorii no kyousei kara sougo koui to shite no kyousei e [From coexistence of categories to coexistence as mutual action]. Sociolinguistic Science, 24(1), 109-124.
NHK World Japan. (n.d.). NHK World Japan official web page. Retrieved December 7, 2023 from https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/learnjapanese/
Nihon Keizai Shimbun. (2021). Sotokokuseki no ko no kyōiku, naze “shien gakkyuu” tanomi? [Education of Children with Foreign Nationality, Why Rely on "Support Classes"?]. Retrieved December 22, 2023 from https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQODL084CV0Y1A500C2000000/
Nihon Keizai Shimbun. (2023a). Kou yougou wa nihongo dake? Gaikoku hito 1-wari koe no jidai ni [Is Japanese the only "official language"? In an age when foreigners account for more than 10 percent of the workforce]. Retrieved December 25, 2023 from https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUE223SQ0S3A620C2000000
Nihon Keizai Shimbun. (2023b). Nipponseifu,”yasashii nihongo”sokushin e zairyuu gaikoku hito no kakudai haikei [Japanese government to promote "easy Japanese" against a background of increasing foreign residents in Japan]. Retrieved December 25, 2023 from https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUA2512I0V20C23A9000000/
Ono, N., Hamai, T., & Okabe, J. (2022). “Yasashii nihongo” ni yoru iryou kanren jouhou no teikyou no genjou ni tsuite no tansaku-teki chousa [An exploratory study on the current state of medical information provision in "easy Japanese"]. Kyouiku Kenkyuu, (64), 63-78.
Peter, A., & Wei, L. (2007). "Introduction: Multilingualism as a Problem? Monolingualism as a Problem?" Handbook of Multilingualism and Multilingual Communication. Berlin: Germany: Mouton de Gruyter.
Tanaka, H. Mino, H. Ochi, S. Shibata, M. (2013) “Yasashii Nihongo” ni Yoru Jouhou Teikyou: NHK no News Web Easy no Baai Yasashii Nihongo wa Nani wo Mezasuka [Providing Information in “Easy Japanese”: In The Case of News Web Easy, What does The Aim of Easy Japanese be? ]. Tokyo: Koko Publisher.
Tochigi Prefectural Government. (n.d.). Hozai・Saigai [Disaster and Disaster prevention]. Retrieved from https://www.pref.tochigi.lg.jp/english/easyjp/disaster.html
Tokyo Metropolitan Government. (2021). Yasahii Nihongo Kizzu Koonaa [Easy Japanese Kids' Corner]. Retrieved from https://www.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/tosei/koho/kids/kids.html
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Multiculturalism Portal Site. (n.d.). Yasashii Nihongo to wa [What is “Easy Japanese”?]. Retrieved from https://tabunka.tokyo-tsunagari.or.jp/yasanichi/about.html
Tokyo Metropolitan Tsunagari Creation Foundation. (2022). Yasashii Nihongo wo Katsuyoushita Zaiju Gaikokujin he no Jouhou Dentatsu ni Kakawaru Chousa. [Survey on Information Transfer to Foreign Residents Using Easy Japanese]. Retrieved from https://tabunka.tokyo-tsunagari.or.jp/info/files/02reports_communication.pdf
Ueda, A., Sugino, T., Arai, H., Abe, E., & Hisamatsu, M. (2019). English for Specific Purposes（ESP）o yasashii nihongo de no insutorakushon ni kansuru kango gakusei no niizu bunseki no tame no bunken rebyuu [Literature review for needs analysis of nursing students regarding English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and instruction in easy Japanese]. Bulletin of Chiba Prefectural University of Health and Medical Sciences, 7(1), 69.
Yamanashi Prefectural Government. (2023). Kinkyuu・Saigai. [Emergency/Disaster]. Retrieved from https://www.pref.yamanashi.jp/foreign/kinkyu.html
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/japanedu.v9i1.68770
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2024 JAPANEDU: Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pengajaran Bahasa Jepang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Published by: Department of Japanese Language Education, Faculty of Language and Literature Education
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
 Online ISSN:2528-5548 |
JAPANEDU: Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pengajaran Bahasa Jepang (e-ISSN:2528-5548) lisenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Internasional (CC BY-SA 4.0)