Providing Support for International Staff & Students

The Support Desk is located in a room separated from the main office of the OIR so that international staff and students can feel comfortable sharing their concerns with the Support Desk staff without having to worry about their privacy being compromised.

If you are a staff member of NAOJ and need more details on such support, click below.

Support for International Staff & Students

Organizing the Japanese Language Class

The OIR works together with the Research Promotion Group to invite a lecturer to hold regular Japanese language class sessions. This class aims to help international staff and students acquire basic Japanese language skills to facilitate their everyday lives in Japan.

The class meets once a week during the lunch break so that staff and students who are busy with their own research activities can actively participate. We also provide e-learning lessons that allow time-pressed or motivated learners to proceed at their own pace.

(The class is currently being offered online through a remote conferencing service.)

Organizing International Social Events

The OIR organizes social events for international staff and students to help them get to know each other, their Japanese colleagues, and fellow students at NAOJ.

So far, we have hosted social parties coinciding with the traditional Japanese festivals such as Tanabata (Star Festival), Otsukimi (Moon Viewing), and Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Festival), and held gatherings for conversation and games during lunch breaks.

At the moment, we have cancelled all our events out of concerns over the novel coronavirus, but we plan to gradually resume some of them after the pandemic is sufficiently contained.