1)全国通訳案内士の資格が重要な理由は？
資格更新のための動画研修の受講方法と概要
2)通訳案内士試験概要は？
3)受験対策は？（私の体験談もこちらからどうぞ）
4)通訳案内士とボランティアガイドとの違いは？
5)Japan's tourism Problem: Not enough tour guide
Oct. 6,2023/ NHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWSより
こちらでは、通訳案内士がどういうものか、資格取得するにはどうすれば良いか、関連サイトのご案内を含め紹介します。(2017.6、2019.1追加）1)通訳案内士の資格が重要な理由は？
《2017年まで》
日本では、通訳案内士法の規定により、「報酬を受けて外国人に付き添い、外国語を用いて旅行に関する案内をする業を営もうとする者は、通訳案内士試験に合格し、都道府県知事の登録を受ける必要がある」ということになっているからです。
《2018年以降》
平成30年1月4日に、改正通訳案内士法が施行されました。これにより、通訳案内士の業務独占規制が廃止され、今後は資格を有さない方であっても、有償で通訳案内業務を行えるようになり、通訳案内士の名称は「全国通訳案内士」に変更されました。
通訳案内の質の維持・向上を図る観点から、全国通訳案内士は通訳案内研修を5 年ごとに受講しなければならなくなりました。
通訳案内士法に関する観光庁の報道発表（2017.8.15)
改正通訳案内士法の概要など(2018.11.29)
観光庁研修について 
動画研修も可能になりました。2018年度の締め切りは、2019.1.31です。私は、偶然情報を得られましたが、自分で情報を見つけに行かないと、見逃してしまうことも多いと思います。ご注意ください。（2019.1.24現在).
①～⑤まで、4～5時間程度あればできますが、講義は何度でも視聴可能なので、便利です。PDFファイルも提供されているので、文書として読むこともできます。
①観光庁研修の専用お申込みフォームから「動画研修」を選択して申し込む
「ご本人情報の登録」をする際、メールアドレスも記入します。ここにログインに必要なパスワードが届きます。
②パスワードが届いたら、「Leaf 研修管理システム」にログインする
ログイン用のIDは登録したメールアドレスです。
③通訳案内士登録証の提出
あらかじめ、登録証の写真を撮ってファイルにしておくと便利です。
④3時間程度の動画視聴
常識的なことも多いですが、ポイントとなる新出用語や新しい規約などをメモっておくと後で役立ちます
１通訳案内士制度・旅行業法等に関する知識
２旅程管理の実務
３危機管理と事前調査
４災害発生時等における適切な対応
５コンプライアンス
６宗教上の注意点・食事制限の知識
７文化別・国別の特徴
⑤効果測定テスト実施
動画を見ていれば答えられるような〇×方式の20の設問に回答（正答率は問われないので、気軽に受けられます。自分の理解度を確認できます。）
2)
通訳案内士試験概要は？↑JNTOの通訳案内士試験概要のページです。
「筆記試験の過去問題」から、各教科の過去問も閲覧できます。
一次試験について：
実施日：8月下旬 筆記（ﾏｰｸｼｰﾄ）
各科目ごとに、合格、不合格を決める方式
教科： 外国語 （合格基準点＝70点）
日本の歴史 （合格基準点＝70点）
日本の地理 （合格基準点＝70点）
一般常識 （合格基準点＝60点）
*平成30年(2018年）度より、「通訳案内の実務」が筆記試験に加わりました。一般常識・通訳案内の実務は、各合格基準点＝30点（各科目50点満点）
なお、通訳案内士筆記試験免除の対象となる資格がいくつかあります。例えば、「外国語・英語」の筆記試験が免除となる資格は、実用英語技能検定1級合格者、TOEIC840点以上を得た人などで、申請により筆記が免除されます。
二次試験について：
実施日：12月上旬 口述
内容：読み上げられた短文の通訳 （メモ可）
事柄の説明 （プレゼンテーション2分ほど）
上記についての英語による質疑応答
その他：
受験手数料11,700円…平成28年(2016)度
参考1：平成27年度・英語通訳の受験者数8,491人、
一次試験の合格率29.3%、
二次試験の合格率69.1%、
最終合格者数1,822人・合格率21.5%)
参考2：平成28年度・英語通訳の受験者数8,427人、
一次試験の合格率32.9%、
二次試験の合格率67.6%、
最終合格者数2,006人・合格率23.8%)
3)受験対策は？
国土交通省の観光白書*一般常識問題内で、出題率が高いので、このページの受験年に近い年の概要を読んでおくと役立ちます。
私の体験した通訳案内士試験の様子と対策*各学科の筆記試験の対策、さらに平成28年(2016)度のド緊張の面接試験の様子などをまとめました。色々失敗をやらかしたので、お恥ずかしい話も含めて書いています。ご興味のある方は、参考にしてみてください。
4)通訳案内士と（善意の）ボランティアガイドとの違いは？
JNTOのGuide Serviesのページからの引用です。Professional Guides/ Guide-Interepreters
ﾌﾟﾛのガイド/ガイド通訳→通訳案内士
Licensed Guide Interpreters are professionals who can accompany you anywhere in Japan to provide accurate, up-to-date information you won’t find in a guidebook or on the Internet. Our interpreters can make your time in Japan even more comfortable and enjoyable.
A Licensed Guide Interpreter must first pass the Licensed Guide Interpreter Examination administered by the Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency and apply to the governors of the relevant prefectures for official registration. A fine of up to 500,000 can be levied on unlicensed, paid guides.
Licensed Guide Interpreters carry a registration card (example below) issued by the governor of the relevant prefecture. They can be selected in various ways. A list of easily accessible organizations officially registered with the Japan Tourism Agency which offer Licensed Guide Interpreters is below. If you would like to engage a Licensed Guide Interpreter or inquire about fees or available tour locations, please contact a listed organization.
Volunteer Guides/ Goodwill Guides
ボランティアガイド/善意のガイド
Systematized Goodwill Guide Groups (SGG groups) use their foreign language skills in a variety of volunteer activities in different locations throughout Japan. Their members are volunteers who are ready and willing to assist overseas visitors. SGG groups are registered with JNTO and wear the badge shown at right. Several SGG groups offer tourists from overseas free local tours in English and other languages.
goodwill=ｸﾞｯﾄﾞｩｳｲる=善意、神前、善意の pay a goodwill visit to Norway=ﾉﾙｳｪｰに親善訪問する
Some SGG groups have pre-set walking tours. To join some of these you need only go to a pre-determined place on certain dates and at certain times, while other SGG groups will make arrangements to meet tourists' requests. There is no charge for SGG guides’ services, as they are volunteers. You are only expected to pay their travel expenses and admission fees for tourist facilities in addition to your own, and also to pay for their meals if you eat with them.
Feel free to contact any of the SGG groups listed and make arrangements for a personal tour if you are planning to visit one of the places included in the list. These volunteer guides will make your visit to the place of your choice much more memorable and rewarding.
JNTO sponsors a Goodwill Guide Program, through which some 47,000 bilingual volunteers assist visitors from abroad.
They earn the right to wear the program's identifying badge, a white pigeon
superimposed upon a globe.
Throughout Japan, there are 77 Systematized Goodwill Guide groups (SGG)
consisting mostly of students, housewives and retirees who engage in a
variety of activities using their foreign language skills.
Some groups offer a free preset walking tour, for which the visitor only
needs to go to a pre-established place at a certain date and time, while
others are available to meet tourists on request. There is no charge for
the service of the Goodwill Guides, as they are volunteers, only their
travel expenses and their admissions to tourist facilities, and for shared
meals.
Services of professional guides and interpreters may be retained through the Japan Guide Association or the Japan Federation of Licensed Guides.
A total of some 1,550 licensed guide-interpreters are registered with these
organizations. (2004年Wikipediaより）
Japan Tourism Agency seated itself with intentions to stimulate local economies and to further international mutual understanding, following legislation of Basic Act on Promotion of Tourism Nation (in December 2006, to wholly revise Tourism Basic Act), committee resolutions in both Houses of the Diet in the legislation process, and decision at a Cabinet meeting of Basic Plan (in June 2007) which was drawn as provided by the Basic Act. One legal basis of the Agency is Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The two committee resolutions (of almost the same contents) are made by the Committee on Land and Transport of each House of the Diet, to point out eight issues on which the government should take appropriate measures when it enforces the Basic Act. In the issue No. 8 it was stated that the government should make efforts to set up tourism agency or so.
In the Basic Plan, five fundamental targets are set, whose substances are, respectively, to increase the number of
- a. foreign tourists visiting Japan;
- b. international meetings held in Japan;
- c. nights for stay in accommodations per one Japanese during domestic sightseeing tours;
- d. Japanese tourists to overseas;
- e. expenditure in Japan on sightseeing tours.
All the five targets each have numerical value. Many among the total of 25 various targets each have some numerical value.
5)Japan's tourism boom has a problem:Not enough tour guide
Link to the Original story NHK World-Japan, Oct 6, 2023But the country's hospitality sector has been struggling to keep up with the demand. One pressing concern is that there aren't enough qualified tour guides. The shortage is so severe, it's been forcing some companies to turn people away.
Traditionally, paid tour guides in Japan have had to obtain a national qualification. This is easier said than done: they must demonstrate foreign language skills, as well as extensive knowledge of Japan's history, geography and culture.
Each year, only around 10 percent of applicants pass the exam.
In 2018, the law was revised to allow people without qualifications to serve as guides for a fee. But qualified guides – who currently number more than 27,000 – are still at a premium.
A tour guide shows visitors around Kaminarimon Gate in Asakusa, one of Tokyo's most famous tourist destinations.
And as Japan tries to attract tourists, demand for them continues to rise.
"Having a guide gives you a better understanding of the culture and the country," one tourist tells NHK.
A tourist from North Carolina says he is glad to be experiencing Japan with a tour guide.
"It's definitely doable to make a trip out on your own, and go out and explore – I think it's just a lot of work," says another. "If you need the additional help, it is really nice."
Forced to turn away bookings
A travel agency catering to foreign visitors says they have had to refuse bookings or change tour itineraries because they weren't able to arrange guides.
"Some guides turned us down because they had moved to other industries during the coronavirus pandemic, or they were worried about the three-year gap in their resumes," says the company's Sato Yoshiyuki.
"It's especially difficult to arrange tours in smaller cities, where there's only a limited number of qualified guides. But with more foreign cruise ships docking at ports around the country, there's more and more demand."
Sato Yoshiyuki says the tour guide shortage is proving a headache.
The company has been working with local guide associations since this spring to find guides who are experts on a specific region.
"With the government's tourism strategy, we expect the number of foreign visitors to increase further," says Sato. "So, we need to improve the balance of supply and demand for guides, otherwise we can't accept bookings."
Retraining guides for tourist hotspots
Some guide associations are working hard to fill the shortfall in popular destinations that are feeling the pinch. This includes Kansai, the region of western Japan that is home to Kyoto and Osaka.
"The shortage is really noticeable in Kansai," says Yonehara Ryozo, head of the Institute for Japanese Cultural Exchange and Experience.
"We sent people from Tokyo this spring to conduct tours there. The leading travel agencies are all saying they want us to train more guides for Kyoto, regardless of where we get them from."
Last month, the association held a workshop in Kansai for guides from other parts of Japan. Some said they were resuming work for the first time in three years.
Tour guides join a field trip to Enryakuji Temple, near Kyoto.
Participants learned about some of the region's popular sightseeing destinations. They also brushed up their English and got tips on how to conduct tours more effectively, such as by making themselves stand out in a group.
One participant said it was a welcome refresher. "I didn't work at all as a guide during pandemic," she said. "I've forgotten quite a lot."
Expert: Quality guides needed more than ever
Yagasaki Noriko, a professor at Tokyo Woman's Christian University and an expert on tourism policy, points out that quality matters as much as quantity.
Rather than just focus on increasing the number of guides, she says it is also important to fine-tune each person's skills.
"High-quality guides who can really look after customers are the most important, and they are definitely in short supply," she says.
"The value guides can bring is to turn people into Japan fans. With their language skills and deep understanding of the country's charms, they can convey Japan's appeal to the world."
Yagasaki Noriko of Tokyo Woman's Christian University says high-quality guides will make tourists want to visit Japan again.
