China News Service, August 4th. According to a report by Japan's New Overseas Chinese News, Japan's human resources market continues to shrink due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and the number of part-time jobs has decreased, which has brought many disadvantages to the life and study of international students in Japan. A few days ago, the Social Welfare Council of Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture launched a special loan program called "Emergency Small Funds" to help international students in difficulties in Japan. This loan is completely interest-free, with a maximum ceiling of 200,000 yen.
Due to the impact of the epidemic, many international students whose main income is part-time work have been forced to reduce their working hours, and some have even received notice of suspension of work. According to the staff of the Social Welfare Council, since May, the number of applications for "emergency small funds" projects by foreigners in Japan has increased significantly. By June, 500 applications had been received, accounting for a quarter of the total quota. One. Among these 500 applicants, more than 80% are international students. According to nationality, the top three applicants are Nepal, Vietnam and China.
An international student from China said that due to his limited Japanese proficiency, he made many mistakes when filling out the loan application, and he needed the staff of the Welfare Council to call for guidance. Thank the staff for their help.
At the same time, Sendai’s “Food Bank”, which distributes free food to disadvantaged groups, has been in action. In June alone, 124 curry and rice sets were provided to local foreigners for free. The organization conducted a survey of meal recipients. The head of the organization, Xiao Menggen, told reporters that for some foreign students in Japan, the income from work must not only pay tuition and living expenses, but even send some of the balance back to the home country. At the same time, he proposed that it is necessary to further discuss additional measures to support foreign students, such as delaying their payment of water, electricity, coal and other expenses, and giving them cash support. (Wang Yanan)