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JAPAN: Tokyo Metro staff at Meiji Jingumae station have started using megaphones that play messages in English, Chinese and Korean. The station on the Chiyoda and Fukutoshin lines is close to several tourist attractions.

The Megaphone Translator, developed by Panasonic, plays back pre-recorded phrases automatically following a phrase in Japanese being spoken into it. Tokyo Metro is using the technology to assist foreign passengers in a city where other languages are not as widely spoken as elsewhere.