Quake reveals Japan woefully unprepared to help foreigners
The large and growing presence of foreigners, however, means the disaster-prone nation faces an uphill battle as it tries to better serve non-Japanese speakers in emergencies such as those triggered by earthquakes and typhoons.
As a part of this effort, the Japan Tourism Agency has created a guideline on how to deal with foreign visitors in the initial stage of a disaster.
The guideline urges tourist and lodging facilities to respond swiftly and fully to foreign guests to prevent a panic as many of them will be unable to communicate in Japanese and may have no prior experience of coping in a disaster.
An app, called “Safety tips,” delivers an earthquake early warning, and other disaster alerts to smartphones and other devices in English, Chinese and Korean.
The city of Kyoto, for example, has set up a 24-hour call centre, which provides an interpreting service in five languages for hotels and other facilities that have trouble communicating with their foreign guests.
There is also a website that provides foreigners with information on evacuation centres.
Bangkok Post: news