An elderly woman (L) holds an umbrella while she and an elderly man (C) cross the main intersection in the Ginza shopping area of Japan’s capital Tokyo on Sept. 15, 2023. Photo by AFP
Japan will actively recruit workers from Southeast Asia as nursing care staff starting from fiscal year 2025, amid a labor shortage in the field.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said the move will shoulder part of the costs incurred by Japanese nursing care operators, and that nursing care education programs will be established in Indonesia, The Straits Times reported.
Companies that run special nursing homes for elderly people, as well as vocational schools to train care workers, will be subsidized travel expenses by the ministry.
Around 20% of Japan’s population will be aged 75 and above next year, and the country may lack around 250,000 nursing care workers by 2026, and 570,000 workers by 2040.
About 28,400 foreigners entered Japan with skilled worker visas by the end of 2023 to work in the nursing care field, according to statistics from the Immigration Services Agency.
60% of care facilities reported personnel shortage, while only around 10% accept foreign workers, according to a survey by Care Work Foundation, Japan News reported.
A spokesperson of the ministry said it wants facilities to consider hiring more foreign staff.
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