Despite staff shortages, foreign care workers still face barriers to jobs in Japan This article explains the two systems for foreign care workers to work in japan and looks at the experiences of Reia Zafra, a care worker form the Philippines. Mainichi Shinbun, 31 Aug 2018.
Give prospective foreign care workers support to overcome language barriers This editorial calls for improvements to the working environment for foreign care workers. Yomiuri Shimbun, 7 Sep 2019.
Lonely and homesick, foreign care workers return to their home countries This article looks at some of the repasts why some foreign caregivers who pass the exam to work in Japan are leaving after a few months or years. Asahi Shimbun, 24 May, 2013
Programs to train foreign nurses still falling short With its rapidly aging population, Japan will need to increasingly rely on help provided by foreign health care workers. Unfortunately, programs to accept nurses from Indonesia and the Philippines as part of Japan’s economic cooperation with these countries have not worked out as well as had been envisioned. A radical reform of the system to train foreign nurses is in order. Asahi Shimbun, 30 Mar, 2013.
Kanagawa to ramp up foreign caregivers: Prefecture aims to drop Japanese test to plug labor shortage This article discuss splans by Kanagawa prefecture to hire foreign nurses based on their overseas nursing qualifications even if they haven't passed the Japanese nursing proficiency test. This follows a decision by the Japanese government to allow some prefectures to do this as part of the 'third arrow of Abenomics'. Japan Times, 7 June 2014.
Foreign Nurses and Care Workers in Japan: Reform Needed by Wakisaka Noriyuki. This articles asks why so many young people from Indonesia and the Philippines wanting to work in Japan as nurses or caregivers either can't obtain the qualifications for this or leave after they do qualify. It looks at the difficulties of the tests for foreign candidates as well as differences in the working environment for foreign nurses in Japan and argues that a fundamental change in the system is needed to make it easier for foreign nurses to get jobs in Japan. Nippon.com, 13 June 2012.
First Vietnamese nurse candidates to arrive in June The Foreign Ministry said Friday that 138 Vietnamese candidates for nurse and caregiver jobs will arrive in Japan on June 6 under an economic partnership agreement. Japan Times, 30 March, 2014
Foreign nursing students get second chance An article about a programme by the Kaikokai group, which runs Nagoya Kyoritsu Hospital, to support some Indonesian nurses to take the nursing exam a second time in order to help them become able to work in Japan. Japan Times, Feb 28, 2014.
Give foreign nurses in Japan a boost by treating accord as long-term remedy for labor shortages An article that argues that the Japanese language test for foreign nurses and care givers is still too tough, and that the Japanese government is not really serious about using foreign labour to meet the shortage of 40,000 nurses and caregivers in Japan. Japan Times, 2 Feb 2014.
Only 30 foreigners pass nursing exam despite extra help An article that explains that the number of Indonesians and Filipinos who passed the exam to become nurses fell to 9.6% in 2013 despite the government making the Japanese language test easier for foreign candidates. It also looks at plans by the government to encourage nursing care facilities to use foreign nurses and care givers. Japan Times, March 26, 2013.
Foreign nurse success story has message for Japan: Open up - Indonesian who passed test cites snail's pace of reform This article looks at the story of one Indonesian nurse who was finally successful in passing the nursing exam, as well as at the need for foreign nurses and foreign labour more generally in Japan, arguing that the government is not doing enough to encourage immigration of nurses or other workers. Japan Times, Jan 9, 2013.
Acceptance of Foreign Nurses and Care Workers - A Potential Panacea for Resource Shortage? by Hisashi Uemura, Professor, School of Human Sciences, Waseda University An article arguing against the acceptance of foreign nurses and care workers, and arguing that the shortage of nurses and care workers has to be solved by Japanese society putting more financial resources into paying Japanese young people to enter these professions. Yomiuri Shimbun, 2009(?)
Foreign nurses face the Kanji hurdle An article by Kimie Takahashi that argues that little has been done to find practical solutions to the language problems faced by foreign caregivers in Japan and that foreign caregivers, Japanese co-workers and Japanese management should all work together to find solutions rather than blame non-Japanese workers. Language on the Move, 17 Feb, 2010.
What's behind foreigners working at nursing care facilities in Japan? A basic question and answer explanation of the Economic Partnership Agreement scheme for Indonesian and Filipino nurses and care c cb b bgivers to work in Japan. It explains the scheme, some criticsims of it, and what it effects it may have. Mainichi, March 29, 2012.
Foreign nurses: Language sets high hurdle for caregiver candidates In 2010, the first three foreign nurses passed Japan's basic nursing examinaiton under the EPA scheme, but only 1.2% of the284 foreign aplicantswere successful compared with 89.5% of test tkakers overall. This article includes basic questions and answers about foreign nurse and caregiver applicants entering Japan under the EPAs. Japan Times, 11 May 2010.
EPAs clearing way for foreign caregivers: Indonesian, Philippine professionals coming to fill labor void but face high linguistic, societal hurdles Indonesian nurses and care workers are expected to start arriving in Japan this summer under a new bilateral economic partnership agreement, and, under a similar EPA between Tokyo and Manila, such professionals from the Philippines may follow. While their pending arrival has been welcomed in some quarters because the entrants are expected to help mitigate staff shortages in the medical and welfare industries, concerns have also been raised. Japan Times, Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
An aging Japan slowly opens up to foreigners This article looks at debates about Japanese imigration policy, especially calls for more immigration from business leaders and politicians, after the publication of a report from a group of ruling party politicians proposing Japan increases its immigrant population from 2% to 10% by 2050. It focuses on the case of more than 300,000 Brazilian immigrants of Japanese descent who have come to Japan since the 1990s, and evaluates the chances of success of a new scheme to bring Indonesian and Filipino nurses to Japan. International Herald Tribune (available on Retirement Living.com), August 8, 2008.
Japan Keeps a High Wall for Foreign Labor This article looks at Japanese policy on immigration in general, and why Japan has done little to open itself up to immigration. It focuses on several aspects of this issue including the situation of foreign trainee nurses in Japan such as Maria Fransiska, a young, nurse from Indonesia, who is working hard to be able to stay in and continue working in Japan. New York Times, Jan 2, 2011.
Language hurdle trips up Indonesian nurses More than half of 104 Indonesian nurses who came to Japan in 2008 through a bilateral economic partnership agreement to obtain nursing licenses have returned home, due mainly to difficulties meeting Japanese language requirements, it has been learned. Daily Yomiuri, January 7, 2012. This story is also here.
Woes of foreign nurses, caregivers in Japan This article presents Indonesian and Filipino views of the EPA nursing scheme, including criticisms of the language requirements in the test for foreign nurses, and accusations by the Philippines Nursing Association that despite being well-trainied in the Philippines, Filipino nurses end up as trainees and are used for cheap labour in Japan. It also looks at debates in Japan about whether there is a shortage of nursing staff or not. Inquirer.net (reposted on Pinoy-ofW.com), Aug 9, 2010.
Incentives eyed to urge nursing homes to employ more foreign trainees The welfare ministry will offer incentives to nursing homes that accept Indonesians and Filipinos who train at nursing care facilities in Japan with the objective of obtaining nursing licenses, sources said. The ministry plans to implement the measure in fiscal 2012 after discussing its proposal with related organizations. The Asahi Shimbun, February 16, 2012.
Japan, Indonesia step up help to nurse, caregiver candidates The dismal success rate of a program to help license Indonesian nurse candidates in Japan prompted the two governments to provide more Japanese-language training to aspirants. Two hundred nurse and caregiver candidates are studying Japanese language at an Indonesian government facility outside Jakarta. The Asahi Shimbun, March 26, 2012.
37.9% of foreigners pass national caregivers exam Thirty-six people from Indonesia and the Philippines passed the national examination to work as caregivers in Japan, a success rate of 37.9 percent, the health ministry said on March 28. It was the first national caregivers examination given to foreigners who had come to Japan under economic partnership agreements (EPAs). The Asahi Shimbun, March 29, 2012.
Pinoy Care in Japan: On-line Resource for Filipino Nurses and Caregivers This website provides information for Filipino nurses who want to work in Japan, and also crticises the EPA agreement and the need for foreign nurses in Japan. Most information is from 2008.
Position Statement on the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA): Why our nurses are against JPEPA In this statement, the Philippines Nurses Association explains why it is against the EPA agreement for Filipino nurses to go to Japan, saying it discriminates against Fiiipino nurses and will lead to their abuse. It calls for the Japanese government to improve the working conditions for Japanese nurses before recruiting nurses from abroad. Pinoy Care in Japan: On-line Resource for Filipino Nurses and Caregivers, 2008.
On the Acceptance of Filipino Nurses A statement by the Japanese Nursing Association setting out four conditions they have proposed for accepting Filipino nurses. If these conditions are not met, the Association opposes the acceptance of foreing nurses. September 12, 2006. Pinoy Care in Japan: On-line Resource for Filipino Nurses and Caregivers.
"EPA Foreign Nurses and Caregivers Working in Japan Urgently Need Help The Economic Partnership Agreement of Japan (EPA) with other countries, especially with the Philippines (JPEPA), has placed many Filipino nurses and caregivers working in Japan in a miserable situation where they are subjected to unfair labor practices, extreme pressure to study kanji, and poor salaries". This is a blog entry written by Emily Honma in Saitama who has been helping Filipino nurses in Japan. It is reproduced on the debito.org website.
Philippine Nurses Association Position Statement on the JPEPA The Filipino nurses politely decline the offer of Japan as it is currently embodied in the JPEPA. Nurses strongly feel that the bilateral agreement shortchanges the professional qualifications of Filipino nurses and exposes to potential abuse and discrimination those who may be unwittingly enticed to seek Japanese employment under its bilateral channel.