History of Iga-no-tsutamaru,

the-Incorporated Nonprofit Organization for Interpretation

Iga-City,a multicultural town

In Iga City, 4554 people, accounting for 4.58% of all residents, are foreign (as of May 2011), and that number is growing each year.Communication between people who speak different languages can be an inconvenience and communicating in limited Japanese may cause misunderstanding.

So...

Approximately 20 people, mostly those capable of interpreting, launched Iga-no-tsutamaru in April 1999, for the purpose of “creating a town where residents can live comfortably, overcoming the language barrier”, and then set up the office in May 2003 in the central urban area of the former Ueno City to start full-scale activities.  Iga-no-tsutamaru obtained a NPO corporate status in April 2005.

What is a NPO?

NPO stands for nonprofit organization.  However, nonprofit does not mean “no compensation” but means that profit should not be divided among the members.  Profit-earning activities are conducted in order to cover the cost of operations and office management.

About the members.

Iga-no-tsutamaru has five executive board members, including one representative, and fifty five members (as of June 2011).  Members include those who are good at speaking foreign languages, those who are not, and foreign nationals.  However, we all share the same purpose of pursuing harmonious coexistence with multiple cultures.

Why don’t you join us in our activities?