City Notices and Services

• Tuberculosis Prevention
• Emergency Hospital Hours For Obon

As a measure against inflation, Flat-amount Tax Cut on income tax and resident tax is currently being carried out. Those whose income tax for 2024 is under 30,000 yen and/or those whose resident tax (per-income portion) for FY 2024 is under 10,000 yen, will receive the difference in amount as “adjustment benefit.” (The amount of benefit received will differ depending on individual’s conditions, such as the number of dependents to support). Those who are eligible have already received the notice in July, and upon confirmation, must apply through Sakai City electronic application system or by post by September 30th. After document examination, if submitted through Sakai City electronic application the benefit will be transferred to the applicant’s personal bank account in about 15 days, and about 1 month if submitted by post.
For enquires: TEL 0120-829-800
Other than Japanese, can enquire in English, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

August will be the second appointed time for the City and Prefectural Resident Tax and Forest Environment Tax. The deadline is September 2nd. Please pay at the nearest banking facility, convenience store etc. Payment can also be made using pay-easy, mobile payment methods and credit card. For those that use the automatic transfer, the payment will automatically be deducted on September 2nd, so please check that you have sufficient funds.

If you do not make payments from pension, the deadline for national health insurance payments (June through to March 2025) is the last day of every month, aside from December which is the 25th. The deadline for elderly person health insurance payments is the last day every month between July and March 2025 (the payment for December will be January 4th and if automatic deduction, December 28th ). The payment deadline dates for August and September are as follows:

August: September 2nd
September: September 30th

Date/time: October 4th ~November 29th, every Tuesday & Friday, 14:00-16:00
Venue: Plaza of Multicultural Exchange Sakai
Eligibility: For people living, working or studying (at university etc.) in Sakai City
Content: Speak in Japanese with classmates and Japanese people about things you like or want to do. Study useful everyday conversational Japanese.
Fee: Free
To apply: Fill in the application form and fax, mail, email or hand it in to Plaza of Multicultural Exchange Sakai.

There are many cases of food poisoning across the country from June to October every year. Please take the following measures to prevent it happening to you.
When buying food:

• Check the expiration date and level of freshness
• Only buy what you need
• Aim to purchase refrigerated and frozen foods last and store away as soon as possible

Storage:

• Don’t leave fridge door open for long periods of time
• Try not to fill up your fridge or freezer
• Keep meat and fish wrapped up well to prevent the liquid leakage

When cooking:

• Always wash your hands before cooking
• Wash your chopping board and knives in hot water to kill germs before you start cooking
• Make sure food is cooked thoroughly and to eat it as soon as possible
• Keep chopsticks used for handling the raw meat separate from the ones used for eating

The Plaza of Multicultural Exchange Sakai are offering free online consultations using Zoom for foreign residents living, working, or studying at school in Sakai City in 13 languages, including Russian and Ukrainian. Get advice from immigration and law experts.
Please make an appointment by phone or e-mail one week in advance of your consultation day.

• Administrative: September 22nd, 13:30-16:30
• Labour: September 2nd, 13:30-16:30
• Immigration: September 25th, 13:30-16:30
• Law: September 20th, 18:00-21:00
• Daily Life: September 24th & 26th, 13:30-16:30

Contact/Appointments:
Plaza of Multicultural Exchange Sakai
Sakai City General Welfare Hall 5F
2-1 Minamikawara-machi, Sakai-ku
Phone: 072-228-7499
Email: kokusai@city.sakai.lg.jp

Hot days continue, but how about visiting a cool pool? This fiscal year, please beware that Kanaoka Park pool is closed due to deterioration. Click here for more information.

My Number Card Application
Make a card to get the following benefits:
・Using it as your health insurance card
・Use it to print certificates at convenience stores
・Allows you to do administrative procedures online

With many functions, it makes your life so convenient with just one card!
Why don’t you apply at the Sakai City My Number Card Promotion center?

Using translation tools, we support foreign language speakers to apply for the My Number Card. Using your residence car and another form of personal identification, we can send your card directly to your place.

At the following locations and dates we will provide multilingual support:

August 3rd & 4th: 1st floor event space, Andy Izumiya Semboku Store
August 17th & 18th: 1st floor plaza of Viva Mall Mihara Minami Inter Store

Check their official site for more information.

Summer in Japan is very hot and humid. There are around 400,000 cases of heatstroke reported every year, with over 40,000 of those people needing to be hospitalised. Please seek help if you start to feel unwell in the extreme heat. Make sure to stay hydrated and avoid the sun during the hottest times of the day.
If someone loses consciousness or is unable to drink water themselves, call 119 for an ambulance.
Things to bring to the hospital:
Passport, cash, credit card, any prescription medicine they are taking and their health insurance card (if they are enrolled)

Until September, photochemical smog is very common. When smog forecasts and warnings are issued, color-coded flags (forecast is green, warning is yellow, alarm is orange) are posted at ward offices, schools and other public facilities. Please avoid doing intense exercise outdoors during an issuance. If you have symptoms such as irritated eyes and pains in the throat area, please rinse your eyes and gargle.