Overseas Connections
Many companies in Hamamatsu City offer a variety of services to foreigners and are taking various measures to increase the number of foreign visitors to Japan.
Hamamatsu City Multiculturalism and International Exchange
Hamamatsu City is promoting six initiatives to respond to the global society. Here, we introduce one of them, “Hamamatsu City’s Vision for a Multicultural City“.
The Second Hamamatsu Multicultural City Vision
Since FY 2012, we have been working on various measures to realize a Hamamatsu-style multicultural society, using the “Hamamatsu City Vision for a Multicultural City” (hereinafter referred to as the “Old Vision”) as the guideline for cultural coexistence measures.
The number of foreign residents in Japan is steadily increasing, and as of the end of June 2017, the number of foreign workers in Japan has reached a record high, and the number of foreign workers has exceeded 1.08 million. In Hamamatsu City, the number of foreign residents decreased significantly after the Lehman Shock in 2008, but in recent years it has been gradually increasing. Hamamatsu believes that this is due to the advance of socio-economic globalization, as well as a decrease in the working population due to the declining birthrate, aging population, and shrinking population.
Based on these circumstances, “the Second Hamamatsu Multicultural City Vision” was formulated to succeed and develop the city’s past efforts, while accurately responding to changes in the socioeconomic environment, with the aim of continuing to realize a Hamamatsu-style multicultural society.
Hamamatsu City, as the ideal city in the future of the basic concept (30 years from now), has been working on the following issues
○Multiculturalism fosters international human resources
○A city without the borders of the mind
Hamamatsu City aims to achieve these goals.
Future Issues
In this “Second Hamamatsu City Multicultural City Vision”, Hamamatsu City is focusing on the following three points
・Promoting the activities of foreign citizens in local communities
・Nurturing and supporting the next generation of future Hamamatsu.
・Building a society where people can live safely and peacefully
The State of Hamamatsu City
[Foreign citizens living in Hamamatsu City]
Changes in the number of foreign residents
Due to the worsening economic situation in 2008, the number of foreign residents in Hamamatsu City, which had continued to increase until then, decreased significantly, but is now gradually increasing.
Nationality and Status of Residence
In terms of nationality, the percentage is on the decline, but South Americans account for about 50% of the total, and Brazilian citizens are the most numerous in the country.
By status of residence, more than 80% of the foreign residents have a status of residence that enables them to stay for a long period of time, and there has been further progress in the shift to permanent residence.
In light of the current situation, Hamamatsu City has identified future issues from various perspectives, including labor, medical care, disaster prevention and education, and is taking a variety of measures.
Hamamatsu City – Multiculturalism and International Exchange in Hamamatsu
Hamamatsu City Vision for a Multicultural City
“Inbound Promotion” Project by the Entetsu Group
The Entetsu Group has been working on the “Inbound Promotion” project to create new attractions that link the world and local communities.
What is the “Inbound Promotion Project”?
Inbound, which means “a trip or tourist visiting Japan from abroad“. It is also its synonym, outbound. Japan has been in a state of imbalance between outbound and inbound travel since the post-war recovery period, but outbound travel was overwhelmingly greater than inbound travel. This is a comprehensive project in which the Entetsu group is working together to break through this situation and welcome more visitors to Japan.
Providing innovative services that only the Entetsu Group can provide
In order to provide a comfortable environment and service for foreigners, Enshu Railway Company started free Wi-Fi service.In major cities around the world, it’s not uncommon for travelers to rely on their tablets and other devices to walk through an unfamiliar country.In light of the fact that it is becoming commonplace to connect to Wi-Fi even outdoors, the ”HAMAMATSU FREE Wi-Fi ”project was launched after realizing the importance of improving the environment.In order for the city to become a cosmopolitan city, with all its service providers, including language support and signage, it needs to look to other countries to experience diverse cultures and develop new attractions.They are also working as extensively as possible with the surrounding areas to make the city and region a pleasant place to live for international travelers.
Enshu Railway Co. Inbound Promotion Project
What we can do
In recent years, we have seen more and more foreigners not only in tourist areas, but also in supermarkets, convenience stores, and other everyday places. Various measures such as the use of multilingual signs and simple Japanese have been taken to make the city easy to visit and live in for people from different cultures, while preserving its unique charm and security. on our website, we have an English-language version of the site for foreign visitors, where we introduce our recommendations for places to visit in Hamamatsu and their attractions. This year’s “Online School Festival” gave us an opportunity to show our site to people from many different countries. We would be very happy if our website could help to introduce the charm of Hamamatsu City to the world.
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