As inbound demand for the Amami Islands surges, Mirai Works Inc. has been awarded a project by the Amami Islands Wide-Area Administrative Union to address the shortage of active regional interpreter-guides. The company will provide practical training for English-speaking regional interpreter-guides, with the aim of developing active working guides.
Mirai Works Inc. announced that it had been awarded the contract for the “FY2026 Amami Islands Regional Interpreter-Guide Development Project (Skills Enhancement Training Services)” by the Amami Islands Wide-Area Administrative Union. The project aims to attract inbound visitors to the Amami Islands and revitalize the local economy by conducting and managing practical training to develop registered regional interpreter-guides into active working guides who can create their own work opportunities and remain active on an ongoing basis.
Against a backdrop of rapidly expanding inbound demand in Japan, visits by international tourists to the Amami Islands are also increasing, while shortages of knowledge about handling inbound visitors locally and of information to communicate to them remain challenges. As of 31 March 2026, 184 regional interpreter-guides had obtained the qualification, but insufficient links to practical work made the development of active working guides an issue.
Mirai Works Inc. will provide talent-development expertise based on its track record in demonstration projects for utilizing side-job and concurrent-work talent, its collaboration with Skill Shift, and experience in activities including local inspections and tour-based projects. In cooperation with LIBERTA CO.,LTD., it will invite instructors and establish a structure for providing direct instruction on frontline needs from a travel-agency perspective.
Going forward, the company plans to provide English-language regional interpreter-guides with practical training, including self-branding through profile creation and field training based on the scenario of cruise-ship port calls. The training will be held for 2 days each on Amami Oshima and Okinoerabu Island. This will promote the development of active working guides who can apply their language skills and knowledge in the field.