TOKYO: A Tokyo-based staffing company on Saturday opened an office to provide information on the coronavirus outbreak and consultation services related to the pandemic to foreigners living in Japan.

The office, established by Gowell on the second floor of a building in Tokyo's Ginza district, offers, for example, information on procedures for receiving jobless benefits and on resident status in plain Japanese. The office also has an area for seminars.

According to Gowell, which dispatches workers from Asia to firms in Japan, some foreigners in Japan, including Thais and Myanmarese, have lost jobs amid the pandemic and face economic hardships, and many of them are in distress because they are unable to return to their home countries due to travel bans linked to the virus crisis and are having difficulties making themselves understood in Japanese.

"The language barriers, among other hurdles, are making it difficult for foreign residents in Japan to gather information on their own," Gowell President Hidekazu Matsuda said, adding that the company hopes to help foreigners relieve their anxieties through the center.

Consultations will be available for free of charge until May 31. Gowell also provides foreigners with information in plain Japanese on its website at "https://gowell-town.com"

JIJI Press