Nagoya's chindon troupe Bentenya, a group of seven women, received an offer from America to star in a film. We spoke to Susie, who organizes the performance, to find out why they were chosen to star in the film and how it all came about. In fact, this is not Bentenya's first foray overseas; they have attempted to perform overseas many times in the past, in Italy, London, Ukraine, Vietnam, and America. It seems that the personal connections they made at that time led to this latest film appearance, via a strange route.

Vice President of the Central Philippines Friendship Association, Ueda Toshihiro, provided a detailed explanation of the relationship between the Philippines and Japan, the current situation, the character of the Filipino people, and other matters necessary for the coexistence of Japanese and Filipinos. Also in attendance was Nakajima Hirozo, author of "Sociology of the Philippine Pub Girls," who spoke about the essence and highlights of the film. The venue was bustling with participants, and the regular meeting offered a wide range of learning opportunities, from Philippine geopolitics to human relations.

Li Sueyong of Baltic Kobo gave a presentation on how to spread the word about inbound tours that you have created and actually attract customers.
He introduced methods for disseminating information, such as joining Facebook pages that attract inbound tourists, and using the association's Facebook page.

Foreign workers starting work in Japan face risks when driving in a country with a different culture.
In response, Hirotaka Yamashita, representative director of the NPO Driving Accident Prevention Promotion Council, introduced a completely non-face-to-face distance learning driving course using videos.
Jin Yokoyama, representative of J-Town, also reported on the gaps and differences in perceptions regarding transportation and driving among foreigners.

As part of a project to attract inbound tourists to Aichi, I visited Kiyosu City, Aichi Prefecture. Kiyosu Castle was the castle from which Oda Nobunaga fought in the Battle of Okehazama, and it is no exaggeration to say that Japan's samurai culture was born here. Yayoi period ruins have also been excavated in Kiyosu, making it an important place to learn about ancient Japanese culture. I believe that promoting this kind of historical culture overseas will strike a chord with inbound tourists who are interested in Japanese history and culture.

After six months of work since launching the bidding project, we were able to win a large amount of money. This is thanks to the fact that several of our members have strong expertise in their fields. We will continue to use each member's strengths to win bidding projects.

The number of subsidies available for employing foreigners has increased. However, they are not being used much because people do not know how to use them or how to use them. Therefore, we asked Mr. Kumagai, a certified social insurance labor consultant and representative of a social insurance labor consultant corporation that handles the use of these subsidies, to give us a report on how to use the system.

Since the opening of Ghibli Park, the area has been attracting increasing attention from overseas. However, there were some disappointing aspects to inbound tourism, such as the lack of an English version of the website when the park first opened, the lack of English signage within the park, and the fact that admission tickets could only be purchased within Japan.
As attractive areas of Aichi from a foreigner's perspective, we suggest Kiyosu in August, Takahama in October, and Toyota in December. While these areas may be perceived as slightly differently from the Japanese perspective, each area has its own attractions that strongly appeal to foreigners. Our members will take local tours to discover these and disseminate information about them.

Japan is a country that Vietnamese people aspire to, so it is expected that there will continue to be many workers there for the time being. However, due to the recent weak yen, incomes in Korea are higher. In this situation, while Japan is a country that middle-aged and elderly Vietnamese aspire to, Korea is the country that young people aspire to. Improving this situation will be a challenge for the future.
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Constant innovation is important for business continuity, but this comes with risks. Government subsidies help mitigate these risks. Companies that utilize these subsidies to constantly transform their businesses will be able to continue to exist without being left behind by the changing times. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular are lagging behind in digital transformation, so utilizing IT implementation subsidies to build systems that are in line with the times can have a significant effect on improving productivity.定例会チラシ20230524