Japan recruits Southeast Asian nurses to cope with population aging

According to the decision made on December 17, related programs and policies are expected to launch in 2025. If they want to work in Japan, medical staff from abroad need to pass a professional qualification exam. The Japanese Ministry of Health will support part of the costs that nursing facilities must pay when recruiting foreign staff and establishing a nursing training program in Indonesia.

The Japanese Ministry of Health believes that strategic efforts are needed to attract foreign human resources. In the context of rapid aging, many elderly people need care. In 2025, about 20% of the country’s population will be aged 75 or older. Japan currently has about 2.15 million nursing staff, with an estimated shortage of about 250,000 staff by 2026 and about 570,000 by 2040.

According to the Immigration Department, 28,400 foreigners will enter Japan by the end of 2023 to practice nursing under skilled worker visas. This number is only more than 50% of the government’s target. The cause of the shortage is the “war for talent” in the health care and social welfare industry as the population ages, especially in developed countries.

In Japan, the Ministry of Health subsidizes travel costs for nursing homes and vocational schools that train care workers. The Ministry also spent money to organize introduction sessions at Japanese language schools in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam and Myanmar. Students are explained about the benefits of practicing in Japan and related terms, incentives, and financial support. The central and local governments will allocate a total of 1 million yen (8,800 USD) to domestic medical training and recruitment companies. The Ministry expects up to 100 businesses to participate in the program in 2025.

Survey by Care Work Foundation carried out in 2023 found that 60% of care facilities and nursing homes reported staff shortages. Only 10% accept foreign workers.

“We want to encourage people towards recruiting foreign employees,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry’s Office of Recruitment Policy Planning in the welfare sector.

Indonesia is one of the countries that wishes to send highly skilled workers in the health sector abroad. In response to that need, Japanese officials plan to establish a program called Kaigo in 2025 to train nursing professionals. The Ministry of Health and the Japan International Cooperation Agency sent three experts in this field to teach and train lecturers and young people studying at the local public nursing school. Previously, Germany had made moves to recruit Indonesian medical staff.

“The government should subsidize the cost of getting a degree and try to create an easy working environment. They should also improve working conditions, increase salaries to make the industry more attractive to foreigners “, said Dr. Noriko Tsukada, social gerontology expert at Nihon University.