Public Service Announcement for Yokohama City

9th July 2025

This week’s edition is on ‘public information in simple Japanese’.

Yokohama City is focusing efforts on public information in “simple Japanese”… Japanese that is easy to understand even for people who are just starting to learn Japanese.

First, public information on websites.

Information that is frequently asked about, such as how to dispose of rubbish, is posted in "simple Japanese" so that foreign residents can get the information they need for daily life. In addition to "simple Japanese," the information is posted in English, Chinese (simplified) and Korean.

The city has also introduced a function that automatically translates not just the information that is frequently asked about, but also other information, into easy Japanese.

Next, public information in the city’s newsletter, “Koho Yokohama”.

As well as the main articles being rewritten in “simple Japanese” and posted on the website, “Catalog Pocket”, the newsletter viewing app, allows users to read them in 9 languages (English, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese).

For details, please click ‘Language’ on the top page of the Yokohama City website.

Also, at the wards’ general information counters and family register sections, a ‘pointing sheet’ is available to make it easier for foreigners to tell staff what they need.  The sheet is written in “simple Japanese”, English, Chinese (simplified), and Korean, and has illustrations.