Society First multilingual fire brigade established

This could serve as a model for other communities with larger segments of foreign residents:

Aikawa Town has established a multinational volunteer firefighting squad to support its growing foreign community in the event of a disaster. The team, comprised of individuals fluent in Portuguese, Tagalog, English, Khmer, Vietnamese, and Spanish, will serve as interpreters, assist with evacuations, and support foreign shelter residents. Beyond disaster response, the squad will participate in public relations activities and drills. This innovative approach, focusing on its members' specific skills and backgrounds, is a departure from traditional firefighting roles. With nearly 9% of its population representing over 45 nationalities, Aikawa Town hopes its model will inspire other communities to implement similar initiatives.

Town officials hope their example will serve as a model for the rest of Japan. Kazuhiko Kojima, Aikawa's fire marshal, handed written appointments to the brigade members during an inauguration ceremony on July 7. Uniform caps and jackets were also distributed to the members. Julia Mayumi Yamashita, a 54-year-old native of Brazil who leads the fire brigade, recalled she was visiting an elementary school with Brazilian kindergartners she was teaching Japanese to when the magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake struck in 2011. She said Japanese schoolchildren remained calm in the face of the abrupt shocks, but the kindergartners were clearly frightened. "I hope to help convey information to non-Japanese so they and Japanese people can help each other in times of trouble," Yamashita said. Norma Yamashiro, a 45-year-old Peruvian, said she often sees residents in her neighborhood pass on circular bulletins without looking at them because they cannot read Japanese.

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More on Aikawa:

Foreign firefighters are playing a growing role across Japanese communities amid an influx of foreign residents and a chronic labour shortage. However, questions remain over exactly what they can do under the law. In late September, Zhao Chunliang, a Chinese national who works for Minami Fire Station in Yokohama, held a talk about safety with about 20 non-Japanese parents at an elementary school. Zhao is one of 582 foreign nationals working as part-time firefighters in Japan this fiscal year. That number has increased 2.2 times since tracking began in fiscal 2020 as Japan opened its doors to more foreign residents.

According to the Immigration Services Agency, about 3.41 million foreign nationals lived in Japan as of the end of 2023, up 60% in 10 years. Yokohama had 123,979 as of September, the second-largest figure of any Japanese city. The Minami Fire Station launched a team in 2021 to help foreign nationals navigate fires and other disasters. It now has 11 members from countries like China, South Korea, Brazil, and Turkey and eight Japanese members fluent in Chinese or English. Zhao joined the team in its first year. Originally from Dalian, China, he has lived in Yokohama for over 20 years and works as a taxi driver. He works with the fire department about once a month.

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The team's primary duties involve educating foreign residents about disaster preparedness and serving as interpreters during emergencies. They visit schools and organizations to demonstrate how to use fire extinguishers and disaster preparation kits, focusing on those unfamiliar with natural disasters like typhoons and earthquakes. Additionally, during disasters, they act as interpreters, providing information about available services to evacuees. Japan has full-time and part-time firefighters, with the latter assisting in emergency response efforts. Zhao and his team are part of the part-time firefighter force.

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I found this article posted here on the forum 23 years ago:


Amazing how things have changed. Nowadays, pure necessity overrides any legal requirements and legalistic concerns.