Governor attends meeting of a new council to improve multilingual signage

On Wednesday, March 19, Governor Masuzoe attended the first meeting of a newly created council formed to coordinate efforts to improve multilingual signage in preparation for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Council members include representatives from the central government, local governments, and private organizations.

In his remarks, the governor said, "In order to make the Games the best ever, preparing event venues is not the only issue that we need to be concerned about. Creating an atmosphere that welcomes visitors from overseas is also very important. So that we can best convey the many attractions of Tokyo and Japan, including our cuisine and traditional culture, and provide visitors with an even greater sense of safety, we need to remove existing language barriers as much as possible. I hope that you will contribute your knowledge and expertise to these efforts toward making the Games a great success."

The council aims to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between 56 entities, including various levels of government and private organizations, in order to promote and enhance multilingual displays and signage, an essential step to improving Tokyo's capabilities.