Interpretation services

Sapporo Community Interpreters

To help eliminate the language barrier  at schools, childcare facilities, ward offices, etc., we dispatch volunteer interpreters who have been given a certain amount of training. In principle, these interpreters are sent out to city-related facilities.

Available date and time

Monday to Friday 9: 00-17: 30

Available languages

English/Chinese/Thai/Russian/Vietnamese/Myanmar (Burmese)/Nepali/Cambodian/Korean/Indonesian/Mongolian ⇔ Japanese

* Interpreters are not currently available for other languages, but we are working to find volunteers for more languages.

Contact/Apply

Sapporo International Communication Plaza Foundation(SICPF), International Community Bureau

TEL 011-211-2105

FAX 011-232-3833

E-mail by mail, please use this form

How to use the service:

1. Please contact the SICPF first to consult.
   SICPF will consider the time schedule(s) and type of interpretation and decide whether it is possible to dispatch an interpreter.
2. Typical users of this service include administrative agencies, schools, and the like. If there is a request from a foreign resident, the SICPF will contact each relevant institution and ask them to submit the "Dispatch Request Form (Form 1)".
   ※When the purpose of using the service is to visit daycare centers to enroll a child, the foreign resident will be required to submit a request form.
3. Please confirm the terms of use and provide necessary information for the interpreter (materials to be used on the day etc).If you need to contact the interpreter in advance, please do so through SICPF.
4. ★On the day ★ As a general rule, interpretation should be no longer than two hours.
   A SICPF staff may accompany the interpreter to help facilitate the interpretation service.
5. Users are required to submit "Post-Use Questionnaire (Form 2)" to the SICPF within 14 days after using the service.

This program is funded by the Sapporo City, and SICPF will provide transportation expenses for the interpreters.
There is no expense for the users.

This service is available for:

• Parent-teacher meetings at schools, childcare facilities, etc.
• Orientation and procedures before admission to schools or daycare centers
• Public nurse home visits (infant check-ups)
• Infant health examinations
• Application for entering nursery school, preliminary visits to childcare centers before applying
• Procedures for pregnancy and childbirth etc. at ward offices

This service is not available for:

• Events, seminars, briefing sessions, etc.
• Medical interpretation at hospitals and other institutions
• Judicial interpretation at police stations, courts, and lawyers' offices
• Exams at school, learning support, use as a chaperone, non-interpretation related requests

Flyer/Forms

• Flyer for administrative organizations such as schools ·Terms of Use
• Form 1: Dispatch Request Form（Excel、PDF）
• Form 2: Post-Use Questionnaire(Excel、PDF）
• Flyers for foreigners(Japanese / English)
• Flyers for foreigners(Japanese / Chinese)
• Flyers for foreigners(Japanese / Vietnamese)
• Flyers for foreigners(Japanese / Mongolian)
• Form 3:Request form for accompanyment to childcare facilities (for foreigners)（Word、PDF）

Medical interpretation

Sapporo Medical Communication Hotline  011-211-2121

For foreign residents who want to visit a hospital

・A telephone operator helps you find hospitals in Sapporo. (Available 24 hours a day)

・A telephone operator makes an appointment at a hospital in Sapporo for you.

*Appointments and inquiries to the hospital can be made during the hours the hospital is open.

  ・Phone interpretation can be offered when talking to doctors or other medical staff at a hospital. (21 languages)

・Volunteer interpreters (only for English and Chinese) can accompany you to the hospital.

*You need to apply for this service several days before going to the hospital.

*English interpreters: NPO SEMI Sapporo

 Chinese interpreters: Sapporo Chinese Medical Interpreters Group

・Free-of-charge services. 

* Telephone charges will be at your own expense.

* There is a fee for those who live outside of Hokkaido to request a volunteer interpreter.

Click here to check the details.

For medical institutions in Sapporo

　・Phone interpretation service is available for foreign residents. (24 hours a day)

Languages

・Inquiries to a hospital／phone interpretation

21 languages

（English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog, Nepali, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Myanmar, Khmer, Mongolian, Sinhalese, Hindi, and Bengali）

・Volunteer interpreters:  only for English and Chinese

 English interpreters: NPO SEMI Sapporo

 Chinese interpreters: Sapporo Chinese Medical Interpreters Group

Medical interpreter’s volunteer groups in Sapporo, dispatching volunteer interpreters to hospitals or clinics

• List of medical interpreters’ group（National Association for Medical Interpreters）Japanese

If you need an interpretation service other than “Sapporo Community Interpreters” or “Medical interpretation, please directly contact professional companies.