For Japanese nationals in Taiwan, finding answers to difficult questions might now be as easy as dialing 10 digits.
The Ministry of the Interior, in collaboration with Chunghwa Telecom, yesterday added Japanese as one of the languages available on its one-stop hotline for foreigners.
The toll free number, 0800-024-011, provides around-the-clock counseling services and can now help callers in Chinese, English and Japanese.
“Callers are welcome to ask any questions related to their daily lives,” said Liao Suh-ming (廖素敏), a division chief in the ministry’s business customer department.
“The most frequent calls we get are about visa and immigration issues,” she said.
The next goal is to add more languages to the service, Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) said.
More than 16,000 of the 560,000 foreign residents in Taiwan are Japanese, said Hamada Yuji, an official at the Japanese Interchange Association.
Approximately 1.17 million Japanese tourists visited Taiwan last year, he said.
“I think this service will be very helpful. In Japan we don’t have one single number that people can call to ask questions,” Hamada said.
Foreigners in Japan have to call the specific government agency that has the information they need, and each agency will then provide translation assistance to help the callers with their inquiries, he said.
The National Immigration Agency said hotline staff were trained to answer questions about subjects ranging from visa to health insurance to transportation issues.
One American caller used the service to find help when his car broke down on the highway, said Sung Yu-hsieh (宋餘俠), deputy head of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission.
A US couple also received help when they found a snake in their house, he said.
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