Young Taiwanese intending to join a reciprocal working holiday program with Japan can file visa applications with the Japanese Interchange Association starting on June 1, Japan’s representative office in Taipei said earlier this week.
The Interchange Association, which represents Japanese interests in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, will accept applications for working holiday visas at its Taipei and Kaohsiung offices from June 1 to June 5 and from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6.
Naohiro Tsutsumi, director-general of the Interchange Association’s Taipei Office, said Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its representative office in Japan are expected to unveil similar stipulations soon for Japanese hopefuls to follow.
SURROGATES
He reminded prospective applicants that they should file applications in person because the association will not accept applications via mail or e-mail. Applications filed by surrogates will likewise not be accepted.
In addition to possessing valid Republic of China passports, applicants must also be residing in Taiwan and be aged between 18 and 30. For instance, those intending to apply in June must be born between June 2, 1978, and June 5, 1991.
Other qualifications include return tickets, a clean bill of health, no criminal record, accident insurance policies and financial support for their initial stay.
Asked whether applicants should be able to speak Japanese, Tsutsumi said that hopefuls would not be rejected simply because of poor Japanese proficiency.
“But if the number of applicants far exceed the 2,000-a-year quota, language ability might be factored in,” he said.
Tsutsumi said that if necessary, certain applicants may be required to undergo face-to-face interviews.
The Interchange Association is scheduled to announce the results of screening for those who file applications in June on July 3.
Qualified applicants should pick up their certificates between July 6 and July 17. Successful applicants are eligible to enter Japan within one year of the date they are issued visas for a maximum one-year stay.
NO NIGHT CLUBS
Tsutsumi stressed that individuals who acquire visas under the reciprocal working holiday program are barred from working at night clubs or any sex trade-related establishments.
Violators may be arrested by police or deported back to Taiwan and even be prohibited from visiting Japan again.
He said the Japanese government will not assist those who enter Japan under the working holiday program in finding residences or jobs. But he said that the Japan Association for Working Holiday Makers offers free counseling services.
Prospective applicants are welcome to visit the group’s Web site at www.jawhm.or.jp.
Tsutsumi also reminded those who enter Japan under the program to apply for re-entry permits in advance if they intend to return to Taiwan for a short-term stay or travel to other countries.
Japan is the third country to reach such an agreement with Taiwan after Australia and New Zealand.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
IN FULL SWING: Recall drives against lawmakers in Hualien, Taoyuan and Hsinchu have reached the second-stage threshold, the campaigners said Campaigners in a recall petition against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) in Taichung yesterday said their signature target is within sight, and that they need a big push to collect about 500 more signatures from locals to reach the second-stage threshold. Recall campaigns against KMT lawmakers Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) are also close to the 10 percent threshold, and campaigners are mounting a final push this week. They need about 800 signatures against Chiang and about 2,000 against Yang. Campaigners seeking to recall Lo said they had reached the threshold figure over the
RSS