Japanese Railway Tests a System to Help Visitors
2023-08-07
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1Japanese railway operator, Seibu, is testing a special help desk for foreigners at one of the company's busiest train stations.
2Visitors who need help at the Seibu-Shinjuku station in Tokyo can go to an information window and ask questions.
3About 135,000 people per day pass through the Seibu-Shinjuku station.
4To get help, a person just speaks into a microphone.
5A system called VoiceBiz listens to their words and displays them on the window in Japanese.
6The railway worker can see the question and reply in Japanese.
7Then VoiceBiz translates the answer into a language the person who needs help can understand.
8The system works with Japanese and 11 other languages.
9Rail stations throughout Japan are very busy this summer.
10More than 2 million people visited Japan in June, the most since before 2020.
11COVID-19 restrictions barred most foreign travelers for a long time.
12Kevin Khani was visiting Japan from Germany.
13He tried out the VoiceBiz system recently after getting confused in Seibu's Shinjuku station.
14He said the translations were "spot on," which means they were exactly right.
15He also said it is nice to see that there is a human working at the window.
16"So, you take your time to explain what you need, and you will know that they will understand what you need," he said.
17The Seibu railway has been testing the VoiceBiz system for three months.
18After that time, the company will consider using it in additional stations.
19Ayano Yajima is a sales and marketing official for Seibu.
20Yajima said looking at each other adds to the "smoothness of communication."
21Toppan is the company that makes VoiceBiz.
22It tested the window at Kansai International Airport near Osaka earlier this year.
23It hopes to sell the windows to businesses and government offices in Japan so they can communicate with travelers and immigrants.
24The company believes the Shinjuku area is a good testing place.
25The busiest railway station in the world is nearby - 3.6 million people use the Japan Railway station in Shinjuku.
26Many people use the Seibu train to get to other trains and subways and go to other places in Tokyo or the rest of Japan.
27As a result, there is a high chance that someone gets lost or needs help.
28French visitors Isabelle and Marc Rigaud used the help window to find their way from the Seibu station to the Japan Railway station.
29They had just gotten off an airplane at 1 in the morning, local time.
30"It's very Japan," Isabelle said of the technology.
31I'm Dan Friedell.
1Japanese railway operator, Seibu, is testing a special help desk for foreigners at one of the company's busiest train stations. 2Visitors who need help at the Seibu-Shinjuku station in Tokyo can go to an information window and ask questions. About 135,000 people per day pass through the Seibu-Shinjuku station. 3To get help, a person just speaks into a microphone. A system called VoiceBiz listens to their words and displays them on the window in Japanese. The railway worker can see the question and reply in Japanese. Then VoiceBiz translates the answer into a language the person who needs help can understand. The system works with Japanese and 11 other languages. 4Rail stations throughout Japan are very busy this summer. More than 2 million people visited Japan in June, the most since before 2020. COVID-19 restrictions barred most foreign travelers for a long time. 5Kevin Khani was visiting Japan from Germany. He tried out the VoiceBiz system recently after getting confused in Seibu's Shinjuku station. 6He said the translations were "spot on," which means they were exactly right. He also said it is nice to see that there is a human working at the window. 7"So, you take your time to explain what you need, and you will know that they will understand what you need," he said. 8The Seibu railway has been testing the VoiceBiz system for three months. After that time, the company will consider using it in additional stations. 9Ayano Yajima is a sales and marketing official for Seibu. Yajima said looking at each other adds to the "smoothness of communication." 10Toppan is the company that makes VoiceBiz. It tested the window at Kansai International Airport near Osaka earlier this year. It hopes to sell the windows to businesses and government offices in Japan so they can communicate with travelers and immigrants. 11The company believes the Shinjuku area is a good testing place. The busiest railway station in the world is nearby - 3.6 million people use the Japan Railway station in Shinjuku. Many people use the Seibu train to get to other trains and subways and go to other places in Tokyo or the rest of Japan. As a result, there is a high chance that someone gets lost or needs help. 12French visitors Isabelle and Marc Rigaud used the help window to find their way from the Seibu station to the Japan Railway station. They had just gotten off an airplane at 1 in the morning, local time. 13"It's very Japan," Isabelle said of the technology. 14I'm Dan Friedell. 15Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 16____________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18help desk -n. an area in a transportation center or similar public building where people can go to ask for directions and help 19confused -adj. lost or unsure of something 20____________________________________________________ 21We want to hear from you. Do you think you would use a system like this one if you were visiting a foreign country? 22Here is how our comment system works: 23Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.