On June 13-18, 2011, representatives of JITCO traveled to China to hold a periodic meeting with the State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs of China (SAFEA) and the Sino-Japan Trainee Cooperation Organization of China (SJTCOC), express gratitude to SJTCOC for the donations, and visit the Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.
The purpose of this business trip was to explain about the current situation after the Eastern Japan Earthquake Disaster on March 11 and about JITCO’s efforts to deal with the effects of the disaster. JITCO also acknowledged the various supports from China after the earthquake disaster, while setting a goal for further cooperation to deal with the approximately 6,000 out of 21,000 technical intern trainees in the disaster areas at the time who temporarily evacuated back to their home country (based on JITCO survey).
At the meeting with SAFEA, JITCO explained the current progress towards restoration and reconstruction after the Eastern Japan Earthquake Disaster and stated a desire to actively establish opportunities where JITCO can explain the situation in Japan to sending countries in order to facilitate the reentry of technical intern trainees who returned to their countries while also facilitating the entry of new technical intern trainees. JITCO proposed inviting officials of from sending activity to inspect receiving locations in disaster areas. The visitors will listen to direct requests from Japanese officials who want to circumvent rumors to work towards promoting the technical intern trainee project in the future. SAFEA explained, from hearing opinions of eight accredited sending organizations, that they are concerned about organizations in Japan after the disaster to reduce the receiving capacity for technical internal trainees in disaster areas, and they are also concerned that technical intern trainees may hesitate to travel to Japan or returned home temporarily due to concerns from family, and that the technical intern trainees may receive relatively poorer treatment in Japan. SAFEA welcomed the proposal from JITCO and expressed an opinion towards strengthening the system of cooperation in the future.

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  Meeting with SAFEA. Second from the back left: Deputy General Director Sun Zhaohua

In the meeting with SJTCOC, JITCO first expressed gratitude for the donation (16,593,840 Japanese yen) from SJTCOC received at the presentation ceremony for donations held on April 27. JITCO also delivered a note of gratitude for the sending organizations that contributed donations and a receipt from the Japanese Red Cross Society, which received the donations. Next, as with SAFEA, JITCO explained the current situation after the Eastern Japan Earthquake Disaster and expressed a desire to hold explanatory meetings to allow technical intern trainees to obtain peace of mind before coming to Japan. JITCO proposed that SJTCOC invite officials of he sending activity to inspect the disaster areas. SJTCOC expressed gratitude for JITCO’s cooperation in confirming the safety of technical intern trainees after the earthquake disaster and explained that some of the technical intern trainees who came home are starting to return to Japan. SJTCOC indicated approval towards JITCO’s proposal, stating that SJTCOC would take leadership in dispatching an inspection team to the disaster areas and expressing a hope that this proposal could be realized as soon as possible. SJTCOC also explained that a debate had been held regarding the rules for membership with SJTCOC, and SJTCOC explained that the number of accredited sending organizations has reached 267 organizations.

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  Delivering a note of gratitude for donations from the sending organizations to SJTCOC

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  Left: JITCO President Shotaro Tochigi, Right: SJTCOC Chairman Diao Chunhe

After the meetings with SAFEA and SJTCOC, JITCO moved to Shenyang and visited the Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. Approximately 6,600 technical intern trainees are dispatched yearly from Liaoning Province (according to the 2010 statistics of trainees and technical intern trainees supported by JITCO), making it the province with the second largest dispatch numbers in China. The sending organizations in Liaoning Province fall under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. Officials from the Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation explained that, immediately after the earthquake disaster, they put all of their energy into confirming the safety of technical intern trainees dispatched from Liaoning Province and that in the future they were planning to dispatch an inspection team. Officials also expressed a desire, as a province close to Japan, to cooperate with Japan’s reconstruction. JITCO gave thanks for the efforts of the province and stated a desire for the sending organizations from Liaoning Province to inspect the state of reconstruction in the disaster areas in order to promote the technical intern trainee project even further.

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  Meeting with SAFEA. Second from the back left: Deputy General Director Sun Zhaohua