Mizuno:There is groundswell of public opinion that why we have to accept refugees under such severe
economic conditions and that the world is going through depression. What do you do to evoke public opinions in such environment?
Ishikawa: We have not seen such rise in public criticism over acceptance of refugees yet, but this is so
for immigrants. There are arguments for and against whether Japan should become an immigrant
country, but the topic is rarely fully discussed in society. Some people ask me “is there large backlash
for accepting foreigners into local communities?” but a survey by a sociologist (with 600 Japanese
respondents) shows that “more contact you have with foreigners in a daily-life, the better feelings you
have about them.” It is called contact hypothesis in sociology. We, NGOs would like to provide such
“opportunities for contact”.
Mizuno: How should we provide language education programs? Any specific period set or goal to be
achieved?
Ishikawa: The uniqueness in the Japanese system is that the Japanese language program is provided
upon the long review procedure. Many people learn the language through their daily lives during the
application stage. They can acquire mainly speaking skills. There are requests to continue it with the
intermediate and advanced programs after the basics provided by the government. I know a person
who now works as an interpreter through self-study. I feel there is a real need for services in various
languages.