2024/12/07 11:30

International Marriage 

INTERNATIONAL
Caring Japanese husband and Earnest Vietnamese wife
Mr Yoshito Hirashima and maifun-san
The number of international marriages has been increasing these days. According to the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry’s statistics of movement of population, there were 36030 international marriages in 2003 and this accounted for 49% of the total number of marriages. One in every twenty couples is an international marriage and it is becoming more and more common around the world.
Caring Japanese husband and
Earnest Vietnamese wife

Q: How did you meet?
Husband: We met through the Japan Vietnam Friendship Association. I like the way she is earnest and how she does everything to her very best, and that is why I married her.

Q: Would you please tell me if you have anything that you found amusing through experiencing the difference between each other’s cultural backgrounds?

Husband:: Even though there are many mixed couples in Japan now days, Japanese people’s acceptance is still hard for foreigners to get. Another thing I found about Vietnamese is that they value family a lot. They always share a family dinner for any reason. Japanese people are raised to be independent, we are taught to solve our problems by ourselves compared to other Asian countries. We like to have our private space. I feel that Vietnamese women are very emotionally strong. They have this calm atmosphere about them and their respect for their own culture is very high.

Q: What do you think of Japanese traditions and culture? And do you always cook Vietnamese meals at home?

Wife:Japan seems too busy for me. It’s sometimes important to relax and take your time with things. I mostly cook Vietnamese food at home. My husband isn’t fussy about the food he eats so it’s really easy for me to cook. We use lots of vegetables, fruits and also very little oil for Vietnamese food so it’s really healthy.

Q: Was there any change in your opinion about mixed marriage after you got married?
Husband::My husband and I had been living in Asian countries for a long time so we have quite a high tolerance for different cultures but actually getting married and living together is totally a different story. People say “do as the Romans do” but I don’t believe in forcing that belief to each other. It is more important to respect each other’s cultural differences.

Q: Do you have any advice to people who are considering a mixed marriage?
Husband:: There is always a difference between each other because of the difference of cultures but you have to be able to enjoy that difference. You have to have a big heart to accept these differences and also similarities between you and your partner.

Q: What kind of things do you want to improve for foreigners through your job as a Member of the House?
Husband::There will be more foreign residents in Japan and I would like to do anything for creating a better society where foreigners can live comfortably through a planned administration. I think that the international exchange of young people is very important for that as well. I want many people to experience and appreciate the cultural difference with many other countries through the International Exchange Association in Nakano.


Interviewed by Ms Joen Korean student

Interviewed by Ms Joen
It was my first time to interview someone so I was kind of nervous but listening to the stories of a nice couple gave it a very relaxed atmosphere. The biggest impression left on me was when Mr. Hirayama was caring for his wife struggling with Japanese. I was very impressed when he was asking her if she had anything else to say or telling her that it’s okay to speak slowly. I was very touched to see a loving couple who respect and understand each others cultural differences.

Counselling room

We will ask Mr. Hideo Munemura, who is an administrative scrivener, and Ms. Chieko Nakanishi, who is a social insurance labour consultant, today for expert advice.
Everyone has their own problems in everyday life. We will ask different kinds of experts to help u with your problems! We will ask Mr. Hideo Munemura, who is an administrative scrivener, and Ms. Chieko Nakanishi, who is a social insurance labour consultant, today for expert advice. Question: What kind of business is dealt with at the Munemura International Administration? Answer: These are the business we are dealing with, below; 1.Nationality, foreigner related (work, education, temporary visit, exchange study, family visit and training) 2.Education related (establishment of educational corporation) 3.Accounting related (act over of booking entry) 4.Company establishment related (business corporation, specified non-profit corporation and cooperative corporation)

Administrative Scrivener

We will ask Mr. Hideo Munemura, who is an administrative scrivener

Social insurance labour consultant

About the accidents while commuting

About the accidents while commuting

Q: I fell over the stairs at the train station and injured my legs when I was on the way home from my workplace yesterday. The next day I went to work and my boss saw my injury and said, “Oh you should claim workers accident compensation insurance. Go see a doctor as soon as possible.” What did he mean by this?

A: Workers accident compensation insurance is a necessary insurance system for employees. It is applied when employees are in the situation of injury, illness, disability or death while they are commuting to or from their work place. For these situations, benefit packages for disability, death, lost hours at work or when you are under the treatment, will be paid to you. Further details of these benefit packages are laid down by the Workers Accident Compensation Insurance Law. When you lose time at work because of the injury or illness, medical treatment benefits will be paid. The principle of this system is to financially support workers by this law so if you need to go to the hospital, you can be treated without any fees. However, the term “commute” in this context means that this law only applies when workers take reasonable transport and a sensible route to work and that they are between the distance of their home and workplace. Therefore, if you stray from the route for any reason, you might not be able to be covered by this law.

Chieko Nakanishi
Specialist in Social Insurance
CDA (Career Development Advisor)

She is in charge of consultation for foreign trainees, check-out for immigration documents and procedure support for training programs for foreign workers at the juridical foundation.

She is currently working as the head of the Chiko Labour Management Office in Sumida-Ku in Tokyo and supports industries with labour management as well as employment management of foreign workers.

“How to Make a Company in 7 Days”
Author – Kazuko Kinosihta, published by Kanki Publication Company

We provide support to the labour of human affairs with all our knowledge and hearts!

Chiko Labour Management Office

URL: http://chiko-jimusho.com

E-mail: nakanishi@chiko-jimusho.com