At a Sept. 24 press briefing, Iga City Mayor Inamori announced the newly created Multicultural Coexistence Promotion frame for the 2026 recruitment. From Sept. 5–23, the city received 183 inquiries, protests and comments mainly via the city website. Much of the input stemmed from misinformation, such as claims that Japanese is not required, along with concerns about personal data leaks and questions about the mayor’s nationality. The frame requires permanent or special permanent resident status; testing and interviews will be conducted in Japanese, with results announced in late November. Only 14 people applied.