“How can I apply for a job and get an employment VISA in Japan?” “How proficient do I need to be in Japanese?” “How is living in Japan?” These are a few questions you may want to ask if you are aiming to move to Japan. The answers will probably depend on situation, timing and people. Therefore, we are trying to figure out the “Reality of Japan” by featuring various people who have experience living in Japan.
I Want to Work in Japan, Despite Many Cultural Differences
When it comes to working in Japan, big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka will probably come to mind. However, Ms. Francesca Discenza is working as a Coordinator for International Relations in Minamishimabara City, which is more than 1200 km away from Tokyo and has a population of approximately 50,000. Even many Japanese people don’t have any experience working in a rural city. This interview is going to feature the reality of working in a rural city in Japan.
Ms. Francesca Discenza (Italy)
-Present
Minamishimabara city, Coordinator for International Relations
-Education
University of Tubingen, Germany
*Image shows Francesca playing a Japanese traditional drum
Making a Connection between Italy and Japan as a Coordinator
<Could you tell us about what you are doing in Japan?>
I am mainly in charge of international relation affairs, teaching Italian language and culture and supporting private communication associations. In order to explain what I am doing in detail, it may be better that I firstly talk about the history of Minamishimabara City where I am working. More than 400 years ago, in 1580, the place where the first western-style school was established in Japan by Italian Jesuit Missionary Alessandro Valignano was actually Minamishimabara City. The name of this school was “Arima Seminário”. Two years later, it was the first time for Japan that four of the best students who learned at the Seminário, visited Portugal, Spain and Italy as a delegation sent by Valignano to Europe with the ultimate goal of meeting the Pope in Rome. At the time, Japan was unknown to Europe, yet it is said that Japan made Europe aware of its presence because of this delegation. Today, the City of Chieti in Italy, the hometown of Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano and Minamishimabara City are about to become sister cities, thus I am making a great effort to connect Italy and Japan. In January 2015, Minamishimabara City made a delegation which consisted of four junior high school students and sent them to Italy as they did in the past. I participated in the delegation and was in charge of arranging the tour and interpreting between Italian and Japanese. Our delegation attended the Pope’s General Audience, having the privilege of sitting in the first row. I think the Japanese students in the first place, but all members of the delegation had the chance to experience something special.
*Francesca interpreting between Italian and Japanese
The key to getting this job was Japanese proficiency
<This project sounds great! What process did you go through to get your current job?>
Coordinator for International Relations is part of the JET Programme*. When it comes to the JET Programme, ALT* is a famous program where qualified applicants come to Japan and teach a foreign language at schools in Japan, usually English speakers are requested the most. However, Italian is not in such high demand in Japanese schools, in fact, currently including me only three Italian people came to Japan via the JET Programme, but all of us are working as Coordinators for International Relations (CIR). I came to know the JET Programme when I was a postgraduate at Tübingen University in Germany. The Japanese Embassy in Italy was looking for an Italian Coordinator for International Relations and I thought this was a good chance, so I applied for it. The process was like this; “by the end of March 2012, applications were accepted. After passing the first screening, near the end of April, the job interview took place, which included a Japanese proficiency test. Early in June the results were announced. And early in August I moved to Japan”. I was applying for it while writing my master’s thesis and preparing my graduation examinations from my postgraduate course, so I was pretty busy. Depending on the country, the number of candidates will change and accordingly the duration of selection will also change, but I think Italy finishes selection for the JET Programme quicker than other countries. In my case, the number of candidates was approximately 27 people. 6 out of them passed the first screening. The required qualification was JLPT N1, however 2 people who had only JLPT N2 joined in the second screening. I still remember that I felt, “Oh, that’s surprisingly not so strict, after all”. I passed JLPT N1 in December 2011 before entering the screening and even though I was not sure about the effect of this qualification, I fortunately got through it.
*The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme
*Assistant Language Teacher
<Could you tell us about the working conditions?>
One of the attractive points in Japan is that the system of salary, social insurance, and social annuity are well-organized. My working time is from 9:15 am to 5:15 pm. I have two day offs weekly. When I came to Japan, my monthly salary was 280,000 yen (*2330 US dollars or 2050 euros on 11th October 2015) and it increases once a year, even though I don’t receive any bonus. Because of the social insurance, even foreigners can go to see a doctor at affordable prices and receive an annuity. I am not sure if I will still be in Japan after retirement, however, if I return to my own country, I can get a certain amount refunded.
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A strange word made me learn Japanese
<Why did you decide to learn Japanese?>
I like to learn languages. My parents love to travel and they’ve always traveled all over the world. Thus, since my childhood, I’ve naturally interacted with people of various cultural backgrounds and I was interested in their language as well. After English, the first language I learned was actually German. My mother can speak German and when I listened to her talking in German, I felt attracted to this unique language. I moved to Germany and joined a language school after graduating from a high school in Italy. The students in the school gathered from all over the world, some of them were Japanese. This was my first encounter with Japanese language. I became friends with them and we shared an apartment for a while. Through living together, I felt that Japanese culture is similar to mine, that’s how I started to become interested in Japan. The first Japanese word I learned was “mijingiri (mince)”. While my friends were cooking, they often used this word and I thought “how cute!”. Then, I started learning Japanese and majored in Japanese Language and Culture when I was in university and in a postgraduate course in Germany.
Little by little, Minamishimabara City is certainly changing.
<When do you think that working in Japan is worthwhile?>
When I can feel my work contributes to someone or something. Working for international relations is not always splendid like the delegation I talked about earlier. Since Minamishimabara city is a rural area, there are a lot of people who have never visited a foreign country or even lived in other cities in Japan. There are also people who regard foreigners as completely different people, as if foreigners were aliens. I try to dive into such situations and approach them to become friends. Then, they start changing their attitude and say, “I would like to visit Italy!” or “I would like to make friends with Italian people!” Sometimes when they see me on the road, they greet me in Italian saying “Ciao!” Through these experiences, I feel the effort I put in working for international relations is meaningful. I believe that mutual understanding between individuals will eventually make good relations between nations and ultimately contribute to creating peace in the world.
<What is tough about working in Japan?>
There are cultural differences. The most important thing in life for most Japanese people is working. I think private time is as important as working time. However, there are many Japanese people who work hard even if they need to sacrifice their private time. There is a tendency among Japanese workers that if other people work overtime; they feel compelled to stay in the office, even though they have nothing to do. This is because they value very much the harmony of the group and they would feel guilty if they left their co-workers doing “their work”. We are sometimes required to work on weekdays in case of events, but many of my co-workers don’t take an alternative day off even if they’re entitled to, because of the same reason I explained earlier. Also, I don’t like very much the Japanese drinking culture. In Japan, drinking together is one of the ways for people to communicate and maintain the harmony in the group, however these parties are expensive and there is terrible cigarette smoke. In Italy, smoking in public places and restaurants has been banned since around 2000. I think Japan is very behind in terms of that. I have my opinion, for example, I think paid leave is employees’ right, so I believe it should be used. In fact, thanks to my boss’s understanding towards my culture, I was able to take a vacation for two weeks (the regular Japanese employees wouldn’t take longer than 2-3 days) last June and traveled to Bali, where I could spend some time with my family. However, I am not saying that I am not following all the Japanese traditions and customs. Of course, I respect Japanese culture and in order to make this acceptable for my Japanese coworkers, I certainly pay attention to things like giving my paid leave requests in advance and participating in “welcome-farewell” drinking parties once or twice a year. I think the most important thing is to maintain the attitude of trying to understand each other.
Relationships with people; that is the primary reason
<It seems that it’s not easy for foreigners to work abroad. Despite that, why do you still work in Japan and don’t want to return to Italy?>
The reason is my relationships with people. I think I am blessed with amazing friends here. The people surrounding me understand how hard I am working and encourage me all the time. I like them, too, and I think these relationships are something special that go way beyond just business. Also, I am participating actively in local events and Japanese traditional lessons such as taiko*, iaidō*, yosakoi* and kyūdō* and I’m making friends with lots of people of all kinds. Last year, at a local festival, a three-years-old cute little girl suddenly gave me a hug. I asked her mother why, and she replied to me that the girl watched all of the local TV programs on which I appeared and was a big fan of me. I felt so touched it almost brought me to tears, because I realized the things I’m doing can impress even such a little girl.
*Taiko: Japanese drums.
*Iaidō: Art of drawing the Japanese sword
*Yosakoi: A unique style of dance that originated in Japan.
*Kyūdō: Japanese archery.
*Francesca participated in a local festival and danced yosakoi, a Japanese traditional dance.
Having a tolerant mind toward different cultures
<Could you give some advice to readers who would like to work in Japan?>
Please prepare yourself mentally before coming to Japan. Once you are in Japan, you will receive a lot of questions about your own country. Some people may have preconceived notions about your country. In my case, many people asked me, “Please teach me English,” assuming that my native language is English even though I am Italian. If you are irritated and create a barrier, you won’t get good results. Thus, I always tell myself that they are innocent and just don’t have knowledge of foreign countries so I now respond this way: “I am Italian and my mother tongue is Italian. English is what I learned in school just as Japanese people do”. Therefore, I think that tolerating each other will result in trusting each other. Remember to learn about your own culture before coming to Japan. It may be more difficult than you think to explain to others about something that is very natural to you or that you take for granted.
You may also have difficulty learning Japanese. If you try to find a job in Japan, it is better that you have advanced Japanese abilities. However, after learning basic Japanese, using textbooks or online Japanese lessons, please somehow find an opportunity to visit and stay in Japan for a while. I think by interacting with Japanese unique culture and Japanese people, your perspective will be broadened and you will be able to enrich and improve yourself. Cross-cultural communication and learning a language… they are not always easy, but when it comes to cross-cultural communication, being broad-minded is extremely important. As the Japanese would say: “akiramenai de, ganbarimashō! (Let’s do our best and never give up!)
After the interview…
In very rural areas where there aren’t other foreign coworkers, Ms. Francesca Discenza is getting great results. We feel the secret is that, aside from her Japanese proficiency, she is a curious and friendly person, which enables her to dive into the local culture. Also, her patience enables her to overcome the cultural differences. Even though she is working in a rural city, in an environment where is not easy for foreigners to adjust to, thanks to her optimistic attitude, she can achieve great results. Minamishimabara City and Italy are about to revive the relationship they shared more than 400 years ago. We would like to continue to pay attention to her work and encourage her in her mission!
Author and English Editor
Author – Takuya Tokiwa
Takuya is the co-founder, Project Director of Wasabi and a serial entrepreneur in the education field. He is utilizing all of his knowledge and experiences for innovating Japanese learning.
English Editor – Natalia Weiner
Natalia is the Editor and Web Content Manager of Wasabi. She majored in Writing with a minor in Journalism and graduated from Loyola University Maryland in 2013. She was the Assistant Content Editor for the popular culture website EmcBlue, and has written and edited for a variety of publications in both Japan and the United States.
大きな文化の違いはある、それでもまだ日本で仕事がしたい
「日本で働く」と言えば、東京・大阪・福岡のような大都市を連想するのではないだろうか？ディシェンツァ・フランチェスカさんは、東京から1200キロ以上離れた長崎県の南島原市という人口約5万人の地方都市で国際交流員として働いている。日本人でも多くの人が経験しない「田舎で働く」ということ。今回のインタビューではそんな日本の地方都市のリアルに迫ってみたい。
ディシェンツァ・フランチェスカさん （イタリア）
–現在
南島原市 国際交流委員
–学歴
University of Tubingen, Germany
*写真は和太鼓を演奏するフランチェスカさん
国際交流員としてイタリアと日本を繋ぐために奔走
＜日本でのお仕事について聞かせてください。＞
主に取り組んでいるのは、国際交流関係事務・語学指導・民間交流団体に対する助言、参画などです。具体的な内容は、まず私の働く南島原市の歴史からお話しするのがいいかもしれません。今から500年以上も前、1580年にイエズス会巡察師ヴァリニャーノ氏によって、日本で初めての西洋式の学校が建てられたのが実は南島原市なんです。有馬のセミナリヨという学校で、その2年後には、そこで学んだ4人の生徒が日本で初めての欧州派遣団として、ポルトガル、スペイン、イタリアを訪問しました。当時、日本は西洋ではあまり知られていませんでしたが、彼らによって日本の存在を伝えることができたと言われています。そして今ヴァリニャーノ氏の出身地でもあるイタリアのキエーティ市と南島原市が姉妹都市になろうとしており、私はその両国の架け橋として働いています。2015年の１月には、南島原市は過去の欧州派遣団にならって、地元の中学生を4名選出してイタリアに派遣しました。私も同行し、現地での各機関との折衝や通訳を担当しました。生徒達はローマ教皇との一般謁見にも参列し、本当に貴重な経験をすることができたと思います。
*イタリア語と日本語の通訳をするフランチェスカさん
合格の決め手はやはり日本語能力
＜素晴らしい取り組みですね。現在の職業にはどのような経緯で就かれたのですか？＞
国際交流員は JET Programme* の一つなんです。JETと言えば、ALT*という学校で言語を教える仕事のイメージが強いと思います。ただ、イタリア語は日本の学校ではそこまで求められていないので、イタリアからは３名がJET Programmeを通じて日本に来ていますが、３名ともが国際交流員として働いています。私が国際交流員のことを知ったのは大学院生のときでした。イタリアにある日本大使館が募集を出していて、私はまだ在学中でしたが「これはチャンスだ」と思って応募しました。スケジュールは、応募の締め切りが2012年３月末で、書類選考があって、４月下旬に面接（面接中に日本語能力試験あり）、６月上旬に結果発表、そして８月４日に日本へ渡航…という流れです。修士論文と大学院の卒業試験の勉強をしながらの選考だったので大変でした。国によって応募人数が変わるので、選考期間もそれに合わせて変わると思いますが、イタリアは早く結果が出るほうだと思います。私のときは、全体の応募数は27人ぐらいでした。書類選考を通過したのが６人。募集要項に「日本語能力検定１級」とありましたが、２次選考の面接には２級しか持っていない人も２人いて、「あっ、意外とそこまで厳しくないんだなあ」と感じたのを覚えています。私は選考に進む前の12月の試験で日本語能力
検定１級に合格していたので、その影響もあってか運よく合格することができました。
*The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme
*Assistant Language Teacher
＜具体的な待遇について教えて頂けますか？＞
給料や社会保険、年金などがキチンと整っているのは日本で働く一つの魅力だと思います。普段の業務時間は９時15分から５時15分までの週休２日制で、赴任した当初の月給は支給額が28万円でした。それから年に一度の昇給があります。また、社会保険もあるので、外国人でもとても安く病院が利用できるし、年金も受け取ることができます。私が老後まで日本にいるかどうかはわかりませんが、もし途中で帰国した場合でも、これまでに納付した一定額は返金してもらえるそうです。
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日本語を勉強するキッカケはとある不思議な言葉
＜そもそも日本語を勉強しようと思ったキッカケはなんだったのでしょうか？＞
語学を勉強することが元々好きだったんです。私の両親はとても旅行が好きで、よく世界中を旅していました。自然と私も色んな国の人と交流するようになって、その人たちの言葉にも興味を持つようになりました。ただ、実は私が最初に勉強したのはドイツ語なんです。私の母はドイツ語を話すのですが、その音を聞いて「なに、この不思議な言葉！？」と思って、高校卒業後にドイツに行き、ドイツ語の学校に通い始めました。その学校には世界中から生徒が集まってきていたのですが、そのなかに日本人もいました。これが私の日本語との初めての出会いです。その人と友達になって、ルームシェアをするようになりました。そこで「この人と私の価値観は似ているかもしれない」と感じて、日本に興味を持つようになりました。私が初めて覚えた日本語は「みじん切り」です。友達が料理をしながら「みじん切り、みじん切り」って言っているのを聞いて、「あっ、なんか可愛い」って。それから本格的に勉強を始めて、ドイツの大学と大学院で日本語を専攻しました。
少しずつ、しかし確実に変わっていく南島原市
＜どういうときに日本で働くやりがいを感じますか？＞
自分の仕事の成果が目に見えて感じられたときです。国際交流の仕事は先ほどお話した派遣団のような華やかなものばかりではありません。南島原市は地方なので、外国はもちろん他の市に出たことのない人もたくさんいます。外国人を見ると、自分達とはまったく別の人間、まるで宇宙人のように捉えてしまう人もいました。そんな中に私が一人飛び込んで、仲良くなろうと近づいていく。すると、「イタリアに行ってみたい」、「イタリアの人と友達になってみたい」とか、道を歩いていると「チャオ！」とイタリア語で声をかけてもらえる、そんな風に皆が変わってきたんです。そこから私のやっている国際交流には意味があるんだと感じられたんです。こうした小さな個々の相互理解が、大きな国家間での関係性や平和維持に繋がってくると私は信じています。
＜逆に日本で働いていて大変なことはなんですか？＞
仕事に対する価値観が合わないことです。多くの日本人にとって、人生で一番大事なものは仕事です。私はプライベートの時間も仕事と同じように大事だと思うのですが、日本人にはプライベートの時間を犠牲にしてまで働く人がたくさんいます。自分の仕事がなかったとしても、他の人が仕事をしていれば、自分もオフィスに残るという風潮もあります。ときどき、日曜日開催のイベントがあって、休日に仕事をすることがあるんですが、その振替休日を取らない人もいます。また、日本の宴会という文化も苦手です。日本ではお酒を一緒に飲むことがコミュニケーションの一つなんですが、会費も高いしタバコの煙も凄くて…。イタリアでは2000年ぐらいから公共の場や飲食店での喫煙は禁止されていますが、そこは日本はまだまだ遅れていると思います。ただ、私が全て日本の文化に合わせているわけではなくて、自分の考えはちゃんと主張しています。年次休暇は労働者が持つ権利なので、ちゃんと取得するべきだと私は思います。実際、上司の私の文化への理解のおかげもあって、６月には２週間ほど休みをとって家族とバリへ旅行に行きました。宴会には年に１，２回ぐらいしか参加しません。もちろん、日本人の同僚に受け入れてもらいやすいように、きちんと前もって報告するとか、送別会には参加するなどの配慮はしていますよ。お互いが歩み寄ろうとする姿勢が大事なんだと思います。
人と人の交流、それがやっぱり一番
＜外国人が異国で働くのは簡単ではないようですね。そのような状況でも、イタリアへ帰らず、継続して日本で働いている理由はなんなのでしょうか？＞
やっぱり人との繋がりです。私はとても人に恵まれていると感じていて、私が一生懸命仕事をしていることを周りの人は理解して認めてくれています。私もみんなのことが好きだし、そこには仕事を超えた人間関係があると思います。また、私は和太鼓・居合道・よさこい踊り・弓道といった、日本の伝統的な習い事や、地域のイベントにも積極的に参加をしていて、本当に多くの人と仲良くさせてもらっています。去年の地元のお祭りでは、遊びに来ていた３才ぐらいの女の子が急に私にハグをしてくれたんです。お母さんに事情を聞くと、私が出演している地元のケーブルテレビの番組をいつも見てくれていて、私のファンなんだそうです。これはとても嬉しかったです。こういう小さな子供にも私の活動は伝わっているんだと改めて感じることができました。
*地元の祭りに参加し、よさこいを踊るフランチェスカさん
異文化を許容する大きな心を持つ
＜最後に日本で働いてみたいと思っている人へアドバイスをお願いします。＞
しっかりと心の準備をしてから日本に来てください。日本に来ると自分の国のことをたくさん質問されます。あなたの国に対して間違ったイメージを持っている人もいるかもしれません。例えば、私はイタリア人なのに「英語を教えてください」と言われることがたくさんありました。そういうことにイライラして、自分から壁を作ってしまうと良い結果にはなりません。相手は何も外国のことを知らずに言っているだけだと思って、私はいつも「私はイタリア人だからイタリア語が母国語で、英語は日本人と同じように学校で習っただけなんです」と答えるようにしていました。そして、お互いを許容し合うことが、お互いの信頼関係に繋がってくると思います。また、自分の国の文化について勉強することも忘れないでください。自分にとって当たり前のことを相手に説明することは思ったよりも難しいです。
日本語の勉強にも苦労することがあるかもしれません。日本で就職しようと思うと上級レベルの日本語は身につけておいた方がいいです。ただ、教科書やオンラインレッスンなどで基本の日本語を身につけたら、どうにか機会を見つけて、まずはしばらく日本に滞在してみてください。日本の独特な文化や日本人と触れ合うことは、自分の視野を広げるとともに自分を成長させてくれると思います。異文化交流に語学学習、簡単なことばかりではありませんが、広い心を持つことが異文化交流には大切です。お互いにこれからも頑張りましょう。
インタビューを終えて…
日本の田舎で職場に外国人が一人という環境の中、確かな結果を残しているフランチェスカさん。その秘訣は、高い日本語能力はもちろんながら、地元の文化に積極的に飛び込んでいく好奇心と、異文化の壁に負けない忍耐力にあると感じた。フランチェスカさんのような人柄だから、日本の文化が色濃く残る地方都市であっても活躍することができるのだろう。400年前の関係性が蘇ろうとしている南島原市とイタリア、フランチェスカさんの活動に今後も注目していきたい。
