Efforts to support the vaccination of the new coronavirus in multiple languages for foreigners living in Japan have begun at hospitals in Tokyo.
This initiative was started by the Immigration Bureau of Japan. From the middle of this month, telephone reservations for vaccinations were accepted in 18 languages, and from this week, vaccinations began at hospitals in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.
Of these, foreigners from Vietnam, China, and Paraguayan nationalities visited hospitals in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and were interviewed by doctors and vaccinated while having an interpreter through a tablet terminal.
A Paraguayan woman living in Kanagawa Prefecture said, "I am happy to be vaccinated because I can protect myself from infection."
It has been pointed out that vaccination of foreigners is delayed because it is difficult to make a reservation due to language barriers and the vaccination ticket has not arrived from the local government.
Nobuko Tanaka, Deputy Assistant to the Residence Support Division of the Immigration Bureau of Japan, said, "I want to strengthen the awareness so that it can be delivered to as many applicants as possible."
The Immigration Bureau of Japan will accept telephone reservations for vaccinations at hospitals in Tokyo at least until the end of next month.
The telephone reservation number is 03-4332-2601.
To make a reservation, you need an inoculation ticket issued by the local government, and if you do not know how to receive the inoculation ticket, the consultation number is 0120-76-2029.