CLAIR News January 2021 (Supplementary)
Important Information
The scope of the State of Emergency declared on 7 January, 2021 for Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa Prefectures has been extended on 13 January, 2021 to include Tochigi, Gifu, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, and Fukuoka Prefectures. The duration of the State of Emergency will be until ７ February, 2021.
In addition to requesting residents refrain from all non-essential outings (especially after 8 pm), citizens are also asked to continue observing basic safety measures against infection, such as avoiding the ‘three Cs’: Confined spaces (with poor ventilation), Crowded places (with many people nearby), and Close contact (with people), in addition to wearing a mask, and hand-washing.
Even in areas of Japan outside of the scope of this State of Emergency, local governmental authorities may also be making requests of their residents. For further details please visit the websites of the government or local governments, etc.
We understand that being expected to behave differently than usual can cause considerable anxiety and unease in one’s personal and professional life, which might in turn influence one’s behaviour. However, we would like to ask for your continued discretion in behaving in a manner that is acceptable and appropriate as a local government employee and a staff member of your school or city office. Please continue to follow and respect all local rules, ordinances, and laws.
For those JET Programme Participants who are struggling in their day-to-day life due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we encourage you to make use of the mental health support resources that we have made available at CLAIR. In particular, the toll-free telephone counselling service has provisionally been expanded to be available not just once a month but every week on Wednesday. You do not need a reservation in order to use this service. For details, please consult the news article below about mental health support resources.
〇Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet Secretariat Homepages
https://japan.kantei.go.jp/
https://corona.go.jp/emergency/
CLAIR has compiled information about the new Coronavirus in multiple languages. Please visit the following link for information.
https://www.clair.or.jp/tabunka/portal/info/contents/114517.php
NHK WORLD also provides information about the new Coronavirus.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/tags/82/
With the aim of enhancing mental health support for JET Programme participants, CLAIR offers the JET Programme Mental Health Counselling Assistance Programme. This programme provides a partial subsidy (50%, up to 30,000 yen per year) for counselling costs incurred through consultation with mental health professionals in Japan not covered by health insurance. The coverage period for this year is from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. The application form must be sent to CLAIR by 9 April 2021 (Fri).
CLAIR also offers a free online service to provide JET Programme participants with mental health assistance from professional counsellors using Web Mail and Skype.
If you would like to use this service, please access the following website. After entering the password, you will be instructed to register. You can receive up to seven Skype Counselling sessions from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. CLAIR recommends trying the Web Mail Counselling system first. There is no limit to the number of threads you can start in the Web Mail Counselling system.
In addition to the Web Mail and Skype counselling listed above, we have established a toll-free telephone counselling service. This service is normally available once per month and does not require any advance reservation. Furthermore, as a special service, counselling will be made available every Wednesday between 13 January and 3 March 2021. Please make the most of these services if you are experiencing anxiety or other burdens on your mental health.
(Operating Hours: Third Wednesday of every month, from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm.)
※Schedule for the fiscal year of April 2020 to March 2021(from January)
13 January, 20 January, 27 January, 3 February, 10 February, 17 February, 24 February, 3 March, 17 March
Web Mail Counselling
Login Password: Please refer to the e-mail version of CLAIR News.
English: https://www.kokoro-soudan.net/en/
Japanese: https://www.kokoro-soudan.net/
Skype Counselling
Login password: Please refer to the e-mail version of CLAIR News.
English: https://www.service-fismec.net/inquiry-eng/login/
Japanese: https://www.service-fismec.net/inquiry-ftof/login/
Counselling via Telephone
Phone number: 0120-810-803
(No advance reservation required. Calls are free of charge.)
※ Limited to one call per person per day (no annual limit)
※ CLAIR has prepared three telephone lines for this service; however, there may be times when the lines become congested. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
