Nipponica

Japanese convenience store operator Lawson Inc. has started requesting staff to wear a badge if they can speak a foreign language, aiming to cater to an increase in overseas visitors, the company said Tuesday.

The badge covers seven languages -- English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Nepali. Lawson said it chose them as the most commonly spoken by foreign tourists and based on the nationalities of Lawson staffers. Wearing a badge will be voluntary.

This is a great idea to help assist those not comfortable in Japanese and to reward employees of Lawson to invest in language studies. I've seen these kind of language badges elsewhere and they do help foster inclusiveness in multicultural settings.