Foreign nationals affected by the New Year's Day earthquake will soon have a chance to consult with experts in their own languages about problems they are having.

Ishikawa Prefecture's multilingual disaster support center and the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau will jointly offer consultation sessions in Kanazawa City later this month.

Lawyers and certified administrative procedures legal specialists will answer questions posed by quake-affected foreign residents. Their responses will be translated into English and other languages by translators.

The sessions will be held at the Ishikawa Prefectural International Exchange Center in Kanazawa City between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on February 8 and 15.

Individuals can make a reservation on the website of the Ishikawa Foundation for International Exchange, but people without reservations will also be welcome.

Between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on the same dates, immigration officials will also be available to consult with people about their residence status or visa.

Foreign nationals can ask immigration officials questions online, too. Anyone who would like to have an online consultation session should access the website of the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau to obtain an ID and passcode for a web meeting.