Vol.812017Winter

Kyoto Prefectural International CenterKyoto Prefectural International Center

KPIC at Asu no Kyoto to foster intercultural understanding!Thanks to those activities, participants were able to get information about different countries and familiarize themselves with cultural diversity.

Here is the QUIZ from that day! Have a try!

The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan is growing but what about the number of international residents?

❶ Growing ❷ Constant ❸ Decreasing

T h e r e a r e a l a r g e n u m b e r o f international residents who are living in Japan permanent ly bu t who cannot speak Japanese. It is necessary to help these people study Japanese. Which organization is responsible for this mission?

❶ Japan Tourism Agency ❷ Agency for Cultural affairs ❸ Fire Defense Agency

At Kyoto Prefectural International Center, we provide (under the mandate of the Agency for Cultural Affairs) support to every local

international association of Kyoto Prefecture so that they can provide Japanese lessons. For the past 6 years, 5 towns have open Japanese classes. Who is teaching there?

❶ University teachers ❷ Teachers from Japanese Language Schools. ❸ Volunteers.

JICA is an organization which provides support to developing countries. There are about 196 countries in the world today. How many of them are considered developing countries?

❶ 30 ❷ 80 ❸ 150

This year too, KPIC held a booth on the Asu no Kyoto event. It takes place every year on November 23rd from 10:00 to 16:00 at the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden. The day was very cold, although sunny. About 1400 people visited the booth where staff from KPIC, Coordinators of International Relations (CIR), Friendship Ambassadors and international students were very happy to talk about their culture and life in Japan. A Quiz (see below) was prepared for the visitors who could receive handmade goods from related NPOs and NGOs.

Useful information available page 3 !便利信息请见第三页！Mga makakatulong na impormasyon ay nasa pahina 3 !

Activity report 1 •November 23rd, 2016 in Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden

0Living Info 0生活信息 0Gabay sa Pamumuha

Quiz answers: Q.1: ❶ Q.2: ❷ Q.3: ❸ Q.4: ❸

Q1Q4

Q2

Q3

Activity report 2 •2016 December 16 (Fri) Kyoto Prefectural International Center

Roundtable session for finding a job

Kyoto Prefecture and Occitanie Region (France): a new step towards internationalization

A large French delegation from Occitanie Region composed of officials, universities and companies, altogether about 30 persons, came on the 4th and 5th of December to Kyo to to ex tend the f r iendsh ip and cooperation agreement signed in June 2015.

Occitanie Region has a lot of similarities with the Prefecture: a strong agricultural industry (wine and tea), many world heritage sites, a famous local food culture as well as many businesses and tourism industries linked to a close access to the sea.

More and more projects are expected to start as a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Kyoto Prefecture University of Medicine and University of Montpellier. It will help students to get to know each other better and pave the way for bilateral research. Technology sharing between companies (oyster farming, connected devices...) is also being considered.

It is likely that international exchange between the two regions wil l increase with the incoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Kameoka, Kyotango, Maizuru...several cities in Kyoto Prefecture are already registered as host towns. Let’ s now host a French team!

Emergency call and fire safety training

On December 15th at KPIC Center, the 18 students of the Japanese class attended a very particular lesson. No grammar drills this t ime! Firefighters from the Kyoto Shimogyo Ward fire station were invited to talk about fire safety and emergency. For 2 hours, with the help of interpreters, the students had the opportunity to learn how to use the emergency number properly and how to use fire extinguishers. Here is some useful information you should remember:

1. To report a fire or call an ambulance:Dial 119. Tell the operator where it is happening

precisely along with your name and contact number and/or address.

Phrases to remember: Kaji-desu ― “It's a fire” Kyu-kyu-desu ― “An ambulance, please”

2. To prevent house firesDo not forget to check electricity and gas

equipment before you go to bed and when you go out. Be especially careful when using heaters in winter.

When cooking, especially when frying something, do not leave the stove unattended. If you have to leave it, make sure you turn it off.

For the second and last time in 2016, a roundtable was held at KPIC to make it easier for international students to meet local companies. 40 curious and young people seized this opportunity hoping to get a job on the spot or at least to acquire some experience and knowledge about job-hunting in Japan.

We have in terv iewed Mark Gar ra t t , Coordinator for International Relations, to get h is fee l ings about work ing in Japan.

I presume that you have a keen interest in Japanese companies as a young person living in Japan. What did you think about this exchange meeting?

Working as a Coordinator for international re la t i ons i s the f i r s t j ob I go t a f te r graduation. What I feel is that Japanese companies focus more on processes, and that Western companies emphasize the results. Through this meeting, international students can figure out what kind of human resources Japanese companies are looking for. I think that companies that have of f ices in the s tudent ’ s home country and with growth potential are particularly popular.

What is the positive aspect of this exchange meeting?

When looking for a job, you have to think about the kind of companies you want to work for. For international students who had not yet a clear idea, talking with the human resources representative at each booth was a good opportunity to start thinking about it. Since the job hunting process in Japan is very specific, the more you get information, the better prepared you are.

When a new graduate international student gets a job in a company in Japan, it might be hard to comply with the Japanese business culture. What is your feeling about it?

The way Japanese companies are doing business is quite different from the West. For example, there are rules you have to follow to deal with clients as customer satisfaction is seen as a priority. Thus, working in a Japanese company could be a very good opportunity to improve your skills in order to provide a service of high quality. Moreover, using both Japanese and English and being at ease with two different cultures is a real asset.

■ Filing income tax returns

Reception for income tax returns and consultation on tax returns for 2016 has started.If you have made many payments for healthcare, or had a child last year and as a result, the number of people dependent on you has increased and so on, you may be eligible for some tax to be refunded to you, even if your tax is deducted from salary by your employer. The deadline to file is Wednesday 15th March. See the CLAIR website for moreinfo:h�p://www.clair.or.jp/tagengorev/en/l/02-1-2.pdf

■ Moving house

When you decide to move house, there will be a notification period (usually 1-2 months before moving) written in your housing contract, during which you must notify your landlord that you are moving out. Try to shop around different moving companies, and pick one depending on the services and fees that you want. You can also try renting a car or vehicle and move house yourself. Try to call up the utility companies that supply you with water, gas and electricity 2 or 3 days before moving out to cancel your contracts. There is information that you may find useful on the Kyoto Prefectural International Centre homepage.h�p://www.kpic.or.jp/english/residents/consul_life_05.html (English)

0Living Info

■ 関于（所得税的）確定申告

2016 年度（所得税的）確定申告的咨詢以及申告書的受理于

2 月 16 日（周四）開始進行。

如果 [ イ尓 / 心 ] 支付了高額的医療費、或者伴随孩子的出生

撫養家属増加了的時候，从

[ イ尓 / 心 ] 工資里扣除的税費的一部分有可能返還給 [ イ尓 /

心 ]。

申告的受理日期截止到 3 月 15 日（周三）。

＜自治体国際化協会網站＞

h�p://www.clair.or.jp/tagengorev/zh/l/02-1-2.pdf

■ 搬家

如果決定搬家，首先在合同書上写的期限内（一般在一両个月

前）給房東聯系。請几个搬家公司報価后， 参考其費用和服務

内容 , 選択適合于自己的

搬家公司。也可以用租賃汽車自己搬家。至少要在搬家的両三

天之前給自来水 * 煤気 * 供電公司聯系并辧理停止服務手続。

京都府国際中心的主頁上有刊

登便利的信息。

h�p://www.kpic.or.jp/chinese/residents/consul_life_05.html ( 中文 )

0生活信息

■ Tungkol sa Income tax return filing

Sinisimulan ang konsultasyon o pagtanggap ng 2016 annual tax return sa Pebrero 16, 2016 (Huwebes).

May posibilidad na maibalik sa mga taong nagbabayad ng madami para sa medical fees o kaya naman nagdagdagan ang dependents dahil sa pagkakaroon ng anak ang isang bahagi ng tax na kinakaltas sa sahod mula sa sariling pinagtatrabahuhang kumpanya.

Tatatanggapin ang appl icat ion hanggang Marso 15 (Miyerkules).

＜Reference: Council of Local Authorities for International Relation (CLAIR)＞h�p://www.clair.or.jp/tagengorev/ja/l/02-1-2.pdf

■ Tungkol sa paglipat ng tirahan

Sa oras ng paglipat ng tirahan, maaaring gawing sanggunian ang nasa ibaba ukol sa ligal o pangkalahatang proseso.

Inpormasyon sa pamumuhay ng may iba’ t ibang wika [M Tirahan at Paglipat-bahay (6)Paglipat ng tirahan at pag-alis sa tinitirhan](CLAIR) h�p://www.clair.or.jp/tagengorev/tl/m/index.htmlNaiiba ang paraan ng pagtatapon ng malalaking basura (muwebles, carpet atbp.) o babayarang collection fee depende sa rehiyon.

Pakitanong sa opisina ng mga otoridad sa tinitirhang lugar. Nararapat na i-recycle ang mga sumusunod: 1. Aircon, 2. TV, 3. Refrigerator at freezer, 4. Washing machine at drier.Ang tamang paraan ng pagtatapon ay napagdesisyunan ng batas. Hindi libre.

0Gabay sa Pamumuha

INFORMATION FROM KPIC

living-e@kpic.or.jp

Living Infoby Email We send email messages full of useful l iving information twice a month. Please send your choice of language (English, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese or Japanese in the hiraga-n a s y l l a b a r y ) t o :

Kyoto Prefectural International Center NEWS Winter 2017 Published by Kyoto Prefectural International Center (KPIC)

Kyoto Prefectural International Center

Open hours : 10:00-18:00Closed : 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month,

national holidays, 12/29-1/3

Fax : 075-342-5050E-mail : main@kpic.or.jphttp://www.kpic.or.jp/

Tel : 075-342-5000

Kyoto PrefecturalInternational CenterB1F Mielparque Kyoto building, 676-13 Higashi shiokoji-cho, Shimogyo-ku,Kyoto 600-8216,Japan

COUNSELING SERVICES for Kyoto’s International Residents

Our counseling staff will give you information and advice for daily life, preparation for jobs, contacts with graduates working in Japan, etc. This service is free of charge.

An expert can respond to your visa-related questions including those about changing or renewing your status of residence.Please make a reservation at least one week in advance by Web form or Fax.

Support Desk for International Students1 Visa consultation2

■ Consultation days and hours : Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-17:00■ Languages : Interpretation in English, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Spanish and Portuguese available. Reservation required for interpretation.■ Email : counsel@kpic.or.jp　　　■ TEL : 075-342-0088

Date: Fourth Sunday of every month, 13:00-16:00 (30 minutes/person)Fee: Free of charge.Details: http://www.kpic.or.jp/english/residents/consul.html☞h�p://www.kpic.or.jp/english/residents/consul.html

http://www.kpic.or.jp/english/Web

For more information, please refer toKyoto Prefecture CIRscommon blog☞h�p://tabunkakyoto.wordpress.com/

COUNSELING Q&A for Kyoto’s International Residents

AQ

In order to promote entry of highly skilled foreign professionals, a points-based system that provides highly skilled foreign professionals with preferential immigration treatment was introduced in 2012.

The activities of the highly skilled foreign professionals are classified into different categories. According to characteristic features of each category of the activities, points are set to each item, such as “academic background,” “professional career,” “annual salary,” and the like. If the total points reach a certain number, preferential immigration treatment will be granted to the relevant person, with the aim of promoting the acceptance of highly skilled foreign professionals in Japan.This point based system has been developed to attract human resources who are expected to bring innovation to the Japanese industries, to promote development of specialized/technical labor markets

For more information: ☞h�p://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/system/index.html(Immigration Bureau of Japan)

I don’t understand what is the “Points-based Preferential Immigration Treatment for

Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals”. Could you

explain me?

Karasuma-dori

Shiokoji-dori

JR Kyoto Isetan Kyoto Theater

Kyoto Station Build.

Kyoto StationWest Gate

Central Gate

Kintetsu Gate Shinkansen GateHachijo Gate

Subway Gate 5

Kyo navi

Kyoto CentralPost O�ce

Melparque KyotoB1 Floor KPICAccess information

Forum to Celebrate 20 Years of Kyoto Prefectural International Center

●Time : 2017 March 25th (sat) 15:00-18:00●Place : Hotel Rubino Kyoto Horikawa

Higashi Horikawa street Shimochojamachi block Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8056Bus stop : Horikawa Shimochojamachi cho

●Limit of participants : 150 people●Free admission●This event will be conducted in Japanese only●Application is required : please apply by email, fax or via our

website : http://www.kpic.or.jp (Reservation by telephone is not available)

Program●Memorial Performance :

short talk and shakuhachi performance by Mr. Uwe Walter●Keynote lecture :

Mrs. Hamada Eri, Professor at Kyoto University of education●Panel discussion:

Mr. Tadeusz Adam OZOG - Kyoto Prefecture international friendship ambassador, Director at Nippo Ltd. Mrs. HAMADA Eri – Professor at Kyoto University of education.Mrs. MASUDA Emiko – Agency for cultural affairs, Japanese language division. Mr. KONDO Noriaki – Director of the project division at Kyoto Prefectural International Center