2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Effectiveness Study of Easy Japanese in Times of Disaster for Foreign Residents
| Project/Area Number |
15320061
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Japanese language education
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| Research Institution | Hirosaki University |
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Principal Investigator |
SATOH Kazuyuki Hirosaki University, Faculty of Humanities, Professor, 人文学部, 教授 (40133912)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SUGITO Seiju The National Institute for Japanese Language, Director, 所長 (10099913)
BABA Yasumasa The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Professor, 教授 (90000215)
MAEDA Rikako Daito Bunka University, Lecturer, 外国語学部, 講師 (10324732)
MISONO Yasuko Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Professor, 留学生センター, 教授 (00209777)
YONEDA Masato The National Institute for Japanese Language, 上席研究員 (20000432)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Keywords | Easy Japanese / disaster / earthquake / disaster information / evacuation order / evacuation action / evacuation area / prevention against disaster |
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| Research Abstract |
A massive earthquake hit Kobe in 1995. We believe that if we could have gotten out important emergency information out quickly to foreigners in English and other foreign, languages, lives could have been saved and much panic averted. However, immediately after the Kobe earthquake, foreigners were not able to receive quickly the information they needed, as it took many hours to translate messages into English, Spanish, Chinese, etc. As a result, foreign residents did not understand what they should do, and often they kept to their rooms when other actions would have been more appropriate.
We suggested that emergency information, at least within the first 72 hours of a natural disaster, should be conveyed not in foreign languages (because of the time factor) but in easily understood Japanese. We reached this conclusion because the vast majority of foreigners living in Japan use Japanese when they take busses and taxis, when they shop, and when they undertake other everyday tasks. We therefore suggested that emergency services use "Easy Japanese" to enable foreign residents to get to the nearest evacuation areas quickly and with minimum confusion
To inspect the effectiveness of Easy Japanese, we tested it with 90 foreign students who can not speak Japanese fluently, and on the assumption that a magnitude 7 earthquake hit the city. The instructions were given in either voice announcement or on signboards. And the foreigners can understand Easy Japanese instructions 1.3 times better than the ordinary Japanese..
Fortunately, our ideas have been accepted by several Japanese municipalities where there are many foreign residents.
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