On 25 September, Ms KIMOTO Yui, Research Fellow from the Immigration Services Agency of Japan visited the CLAIR Sydney office. The Immigration Services Agency, to be established as an agency of the Ministry of Justice of Japan, was upgraded from the Immigration Bureau in April this year. The agency oversees areas such as immigration control and managing and supporting foreign nationals residing in Japan.
Ms Kimoto visited governmental and relevant organisations in Australia to learn about the policy for immigrant and refugee social integration in Australia, which has a long history of providing settlement services for immigrants. The information and knowledge that Ms Kimoto gained will be taken into consideration for Japan’s enhancement of support systems for the increasing number of foreign nationals living and working in Japan.
Assistant Director at CLAIR Sydney, SASAKI Yusuke explained Australian multicultural policies and had a discussion with her.
In April this year, Japan’s Central Government introduced two new resident statuses that are specifically for labourers with expertise and specialised skills. This change is expected to complement the increasing trend of foreign residents living in Japan, however further efforts to welcome people from overseas are required.
CLAIR Sydney will continue to research multicultural policies in Australia and assist Japanese local governments in their development of initiatives for intercultural society.
