Japan to Ease Criteria for Foreign Trainee-Hiring Care Providers

Jiji Press

12:10 JST, June 20, 2024

Tokyo, June 19 (Jiji Press) — Japan’s welfare ministry said Wednesday that it plans to ease the criteria for nursing care facilities to employ foreign technical trainees, starting as early as fiscal 2025, to address growing labor shortages.

Currently, only nursing care facilities that have been operational for over three years can employ foreign workers under the country’s technical intern trainee program.

Under the ministry’s plan, facilities will be allowed to accept foreign workers even if they have not been in operation for three years, as long as organizations that operate them were established more than three years before.

Facilities whose operators were established less than three years earlier will also be allowed to employ foreign trainees if they clear certain conditions such as conducting training of foreign talent.

The ministry also plans to broaden the pool of foreign workers that can provide home-visit nursing care services.

The pool will include technical trainees, workers with a specified skills visa and certified care worker candidates from countries with which Japan has an economic partnership agreement, on condition that they complete induction training for care workers.

Currently, only people with a nursery care visa status and certified care workers from countries that have EPAs with Japan are allowed to engage in home-visit care.