Foreigner Coexistence Lecture "Get to know Myanmar!" December 14th Event Report

This year, JAC will be holding free "Lectures on Coexistence with Foreigners for Japanese People" six times a year as part of a project to help create workplaces that are easy for specified skilled workers to work in, such as by helping to facilitate communication at the workplace and in daily life.

The fourth "Getting to Know Myanmar!" seminar was held online on Thursday, December 14th. This time, we invited Mr. Naoki Nonoyama (Managing Director of POH Co., Ltd.), who has sent many Myanmar talents to Japan, as the lecturer. He spoke on a wide range of topics, from the basics about Myanmar, such as religion, history, food culture, and events, to the characteristics of Myanmar people's communication and useful Burmese language to know. In particular, we learned a lot of useful information to know when working together, such as their personality of not being able to say "no" and accepting things, and their reactions when you treat them to a meal.

Main Q&A

• Q. Besides Japan, what other countries do people from Myanmar go to for work?
• The most popular destinations for migrant workers are Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, as there is no need to learn the language compared to Japan. However, there are also areas where they can earn much more in Japan, and there is a boom in Japanese language education there.
• Q. What kind of ideas do young people who come to Japan for training have? I am worried that if multiple people are employed, there will be problems due to differences in ideas.
• My thoughts on Buddhism have not changed. I tend to be lonely, and I think that there would be more harmony if there were more people.
• Q. What kind of troubles are specific to Myanmar people?
• They are a little timid and proud, and there are cases where they become depressed when they are scolded in public. Also, home appliances were not widespread at the time, and they did not know how to use microwaves and ended up heating up stainless steel products. Education on home appliances is necessary.
• Q.Aside from work, are there many people who would like to actively participate in company events?
• Many of the students are eager to participate. Since Japan is a country with not much entertainment, I think they will be happy to participate in company events and other new experiences.

And more.

Participant feedback (from the survey)

• It was interesting to learn more about a country that is usually not well-known.
• This was very helpful as we will be welcoming technical intern trainees from Myanmar next year.
• I was able to get raw information that I would not have been able to find by searching the internet.
• I wanted to hear some specific examples of Myanmar people being accepted as specified skilled workers.
• I was concerned about comparisons with other countries and issues regarding acceptance.
• I would like to know how to support the mental health of technical intern trainees, not just Myanmar trainees.

And so on.

If you weren't able to attend, be sure to check out the following:

Click here to watch what you missed

https://youtu.be/nwzaGeZaFF0?si=QDZXA93S_u17zLJ3

(Please note that due to privacy concerns, the Q&A Corner has been excluded.)

★Click here for the slides used

https://jac-skill.or.jp/news/files/report_20231130.pdf

Next time, we will talk about Nepal. We hope that a wide range of people will participate, including companies that employ or are considering employing Nepalese people, and people who work with Nepalese people in the field, and that this will provide some hints for working with foreigners.
* skills evaluation exam in Nepal is scheduled for February 2024.

★For more information on the lectures on coexistence with foreigners, click here

https://jac-skill.or.jp/news/event/20230620.php

★Click here to apply for the Nepal Coexistence Course

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/093242e9-0b4c-4049-8955-427381966040@1afda869-1f95-44ee-9a1d-688120f4fc18

*Multicultural coexistence means "people of different nationalities, ethnicities, etc. living together while recognizing each other's cultural differences and striving to build equal relationships."