Japan to open doors for foreign trainees to assume care jobs

Currently, Japan only accepts foreign care workers from Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam under economic partnership agreements with these countries. A Diet committee on Friday approved bills to enable foreign trainees to take nursing care jobs in Japan, paving way for their enactment in the current Diet session as the rapidly graying country will face a serious shortage of personnel in the industry in coming years. The two bills — one on proper training of foreign interns and the other on amending immigration laws — call for expanding the scope of work foreign trainees can assume, despite concerns about a decline in the quality of service and harsh working environments. While the Japanese government has explained the reason for the change as “responding to the needs of aging Asian countries,” it will effectively help Japan make up for an estimated lack of 380,000 care workers in 2025. Currently, Japan only accepts...