One Year of VAWORK — Thank You, Everyone

Last December, VAWORK began answering messages in a new way. When someone writes in with a question, AI drafts a reply in Vietnamese. An advisor from the Association reads it over, fixes anything that isn’t right, and only then sends it. The person asking doesn’t have to wait long, and the answer still has a person taking responsibility for it.

One Saturday evening in January, someone messaged VAWORK. They had just quit their job after being bullied at their company. They hadn’t been allowed to carry a phone during work hours, so they had no recordings or footage of anything. Now they didn’t know who to ask. That very evening, they received advice on how to document what had happened and several places they could go to for help. A few days later, the advisor also sent the phone number of the Hello Work office near their home and the hours when an interpreter is available. They replied with just one word: “cảm ơn” (thank you).

From October 2025 to September 2026, VAWORK supported 303 people. The most common questions were about quitting a job, changing jobs, unpaid overtime pay, visas, and pensions when returning to their home country. The Association also invited expert Oikawa Tasuke (特定社会保険労務士 — certified social insurance and labor consultant) to hold 3 online seminars on pensions, the lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金), and the 2026 revision of the immigration law. Frequently asked questions are gathered at vawork.hiephoi.jp/huong-dan, where anyone can view them.

To be honest, not many people know about VAWORK yet — fewer than the target of 500 people. At the end of December, the team traveled to Shiga and Himeji to meet fellow workers. Many said they wanted to be able to handle their own affairs by themselves. Next year, the Association wants to help the people in each area who are often asked for advice by their friends learn to use free AI to look up information and read Japanese documents.

VAWORK is still open. If there’s anything you need to ask, please just message us.

This project was made possible thanks to funding from the Central Community Chest of Japan (中央共同募金会, the Akaihane fund) and the Mitsubishi Foundation (三菱財団), from donations by many people across Japan. The Association would like to express its thanks.

本事業は、赤い羽根福祉基金「社会課題テーマ」プログラム 外国にルーツがある人々への支援活動応援助成を受けて活動したものです（中央共同募金会による助成）。寄付者の皆様に心より御礼申し上げます。

#三菱財団×中央共同募金会 助成 #中央共同募金会助成