A/HRC/17/33/Add.3 companies contribute to hiring Japanese teachers for children of their migrant workers, with the contribution by the workers and the prefecture. However, these initiatives are limited to the Aichi Prefecture, while, according to municipalities, there is a need for these initiatives to be institutionalized across the country. B. Assistance in seeking employment 26. Labour policies are the prerogative of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour. Before the economic crisis, the Ministry had some measures in place in order to support migrant workers through the public employment offices (called “Hello Work”). In addition to the services provided to all workers such as the payment of unemployment benefits, the 545 “Hello Work” offices nationwide provide a number of interpreters to assist migrants seeking a job, and training sessions to private companies on migrants’ rights with regard to pension benefits and labour and social insurance. Owing to the severe impact of the economic crisis at the end of 2008 which particularly affected migrant workers, the Ministry adopted new measures to deal with the large number of migrant workers who approached the “Hello Work” offices. It placed more interpreters and counsellors in these offices, and established counselling and assistance centres especially dedicated to them in regions with a very high number of migrants. For example, in Hamamatsu, as the number of migrant workers who came to the offices rose from 200 to 1,614 in February 2009, three more offices were established, in addition to the three existing ones: two of them are dedicated exclusively to migrants. While the rate of employment found through the “Hello Work” office in Hamamatsu was 6.9 per cent in February 2009, it rose to 27.8 per cent in January 2010, compared to the general rate of employment in Hamamatsu of 21.4 per cent for the same month.11 27. Nationwide, the number of “Hello Work” offices with interpreters rose from 73 in 2008 to 126 in 2009, and the hours of interpretation rose from 712 to 4,698 per week. 28. The Government also funds free training programmes which last around three months, targeting around 5,000 migrant workers of Japanese descent and aimed at strengthening their communication skills, including Japanese, providing basic knowledge of labour legislation and practice in Japan, and guidance on the preparation of resumes and interviews. While this is a good initiative, it is of concern that this programme is limited to migrants of Japanese descent and is not available to all migrants in need. 29. Finally, for those migrant workers who, affected by the recent economic crisis and unable to find employment, wish to return to their country, the Government offers the provision of financial and other assistance for their return, although this measure has been controversial. C. Promotion of cultural exchange 30. With the aim of promoting cultural exchanges and better mutual understanding, a number of local municipalities and NGOs organize or support cultural events on a regular basis. For instance, Hamamatsu provides assistance to both foreign and Japanese cultural groups for the organization of cultural events, such as the Hamamatsu Samba festival. 31. Toyota also holds two festivals annually: the Brazilian Festival and the Sticky Rice Festival, where the national and migrant communities celebrate together. It also created a 11 8 Statistics provided by the “Hello Work” office in Hamamatsu.