Woes of foreign caregivers, nurses in Japan
by Florence Gibbs - August 10, 2010
Japan, 10th August: Foreign caregivers and nurses in Japan are getting a rough ride despite the fact that Japan is in dire need of foreign nurses and caregivers because of its aging population.
Although, in a bid to find a possible solution to the growing needs of foreign caregivers and nurses in Japan, the nation has entered into agreements with nations including Indonesia and the Philippines. As per the EPA (Economic Partnership Agreements), a total of 1,000 qualified caregivers and nurses will come and work in Japan for the elderly people.
However, the harrowing fact is that even after working for a period of three years on the job of caregivers and nurses, all such foreign workers have to clear an exam comprising of two-parts if they want to continue their stay and their jobs of caregivers/nurses in Japan.
The recently released results of the exams for foreign caregivers and nurses in Japan show that out of the total 1,000 Indonesians and Filipino nurses and caregivers who took the test, just three cleared this test while the rest, who did not clear the qualifying exam, had no option but to move back to their native nations.
It is being argued that the extremely tough test which the foreign caregivers and nurses are required to clear in order to work in Japan is designed in such a fashion so as to distract Asian migrants from working in Japan since the Japanese have a strong dislike for immigrants coming to their nation to live and work here.
Foreign caregivers hailing from the Philippines and Indonesia are urging their respective nations to seek relaxations in the rules for working in Japan. The test requires such foreign workers in Japan to learn thousands of medical terms and Japanese characters while working full-time for a period of three year. And they are allowed only one chance to clear the exam.
28-year-old Wahyudin, an Indonesian nurse, while speaking on behalf of several fellow foreign nurses says that the exam is not a test of the qualifications of the nurses/caregiver but a test of the Japanese language.
Wahyudin says he wants to take the job of a caregiver in Japan and seeks help in improvements in the system.
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