City Services and Notices

• Tuberculosis Prevention
• Emergency Hospital Hours For Obon

As a measure against rising prices, flat-amount tax cuts were implemented for 2024 income tax and FY2024 resident tax. If the amount you received through the initial adjustment benefit is insufficient, you may be eligible to receive the difference as a supplementary adjustment benefit for flat-amount tax cut. If you are eligible, a notification was sent in late July. Please check your mail.

• If the city already has your bank account information, the benefit will be directly deposited into that account.
• If the city does not have your account information, please apply by September 30th via the Sakai electronic application system or by post.

After document review, payment will be made to the account under your name:

• In about 15 days for online applications
• In about 1 month for postal applications

Inquiries: Call center
TEL: 0120-326-472
Support is available in Japanese, 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 1st. Please pay at the nearest banking facility, convenience store etc. Payment can also be made using Pay-easy, mobile payment methods and credit cards on the regional tax payment site (eLTAX). Click here for more details about the site (eLTAX). For those that use the account transfer, the payment will automatically be deducted on September 1st, 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 2026) 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 of every month between July and March 2026 (December 28th for account transfer). If the payment date falls on a closure date of financial institutions, it will be moved to the next business day. The payment deadline dates for August and September are as follows:
August: September 1st
September: September 30th

Date/time: September 26th ~ November 21st, every Tuesday and 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 inquire/place of application: Plaza of Multicultural Exchange Sakai
To apply: Fill in the application form and fax, mail, email or hand-in directly
Application form: Click here

There are many cases of bacterial 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 and aim to purchase refrigerated and frozen foods last and store them 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 and 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 boiled water to kill germs before you start cooking and make sure food is cooked thoroughly and to eat it as soon as possible. While barbecuing, keep chopsticks used for handling the raw meat separate from the ones used for eating.

Hot days are still continuing. Enjoy yourself to the fullest at the pool!
Visit the Sakai City pools page for more information.

As of October 1st this year, a national census will be conducted. The national census is the most important statistical survey conducted by the Japanese government every five years, based on the Statistics Act. The data collected is used as fundamental information for national, prefectural, and municipal administration.
All people residing in Japan, regardless of nationality, are required to participate.
Survey materials are available in 28 languages. Among them, responses can be submitted online in English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. If you need materials in other languages, please contact the census enumerator or the Multicultural Exchange Plaza Sakai.
The information collected in this survey will never be used for any purpose other than statistical analysis.
Starting September 20th, census enumerators will distribute survey materials to mailboxes etc.
Online responses: Accepted from September 20th to October 8th.
Mail-in paper forms: Please send them between October 1st and October 8th.
Click here for the 2025 National Census Campaign Website

Summer in Japan is very hot and humid. There are around 400,000 cases of heatstroke reported every year, with over 40,000 people taken to the hospital. Please seek help if you start to feel unwell in the extreme heat. Make sure to stay hydrated and avoid direct sunlight and hot environments. If someone loses consciousness or is unable to drink water by themselves, call 119 for an ambulance.