Many local gov'ts in Japan short on volunteer interpreters in emergencies

Many of Japan's local governments are concerned about a shortage of volunteer interpreters and translators to support foreign residents and tourists during times of disaster, having made limited progress in addressing the issue highlighted by natural disasters in recent years, a survey showed Sunday.Disasters including massive floods triggered by typhoons last year have exposed a difficulty in having enough language professionals to assist non-Japanese speakers as the country promotes inbound tourism to boost the economy and draws more foreign workers to alleviate the labor shortage.In the …READ FULL ARTICLE