As local governments ramp up preparations to inoculate their residents against COVID-19, one key task for officials is to make the vaccine program as widely accessible as possible to foreign residents, including by offering interpreters and translating documents into other languages.
But with their hands already full, some municipalities, many of them home to diverse populations, are less prepared than others and have been forced to put the issue on the back burner.
At the national level, lawmakers are aware of the problem and are discussing measures to mitigate communication problems. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s internal task force has compiled a proposal stating the need for the smooth inoculation of foreign residents.