What is “Useful Map for Foreign Residents”?
“Useful map for foreign residents” (https://map.japan-workers.com/) is a map provided by Nishiyama Chizai Co., Ltd. for foreigners working and living in Japan. This is a site that summarizes useful information listing immigration lawyers who mediate residence applications, specified skills registration support organizations, technical training supervising organizations, medical institutions that cater to foreigners, etc. with Google Map, by each prefecture, town, and village across the country.
What is “Uchikam®”?
Uchikam® (https://www.uchikam.com) is a customer attraction solution for stores and offices that I provide as Nishiyama Chizai Co., Ltd. Using technology called WEBRTC (Web Real-Time Communication), stores and offices can make video calls with visitors to the dedicated website.
Zoom, Teams, etc. are mainly used for video conferencing, where the meeting time is decided in advance and the meeting link is shared.
In contrast, ”Uchikam®” creates a world as if people passing by a physical store or office can see a signboard and stop by, using an Internet browser.
Integration of both solutions
We have now integrated “Uchikam®” to “Useful Map for Foreign Residents”.
 | At the top of the screen, businesses that provide services for foreigners among those registered with “Uchikam®” are listed as “organizations providing services for foreigners that support video calls.” By clicking on the icon, you will be redirected to the Uchikam® operator’s dedicated site, and if the operator is online, you can immediately start communicating. |
Business needs to attract customers
Immigration lawyers like me who provide residence application intermediation based on online applications basically cover the whole country, but other immigration lawyers are local-based.
Of course, the specific skills registration support organization that supports employers and foreigners who receive support will also be local-community-based.
The “Useful Map for Foreign Residents” displays target maps and support organizations in the area from which you access, so you can expect first contact from local people.
If you register as a “service providing agency for foreigners that supports video calls” nationwide, it will be displayed no matter where you access from within the country, and if you select and register a prefecture (multiple selections are possible), you can be displayed according to the prefecture (or the prefecture corresponding to the link on Google specified by region).
Needs of foreigners and foreign employees
In general, immigration needs are urgent.
From the perspective of employers who need to secure human resources, it is desirable to begin the process of applying for a status of residence, which sometimes takes months, as soon as possible. It is more meaningful to have a face-to-face conversation than to waste time.
The same can be said for foreign nationals, such as when their expiration date is approaching or their employment status has changed.
Summary
We are proud that there is no example yet of deploying a video call-based aggregation solution using WEBRTC to cover the entire country, at least for foreigners and foreign employees.
The initiative is still in the experimental stage, but I would like to report on the progress on this blog in the future.