Japan to accept nurse candidates from Vietnam
Japan Times, Tokyo
Japan to accept nurse candidates from Vietnam
20 April 2012
Jiji/Japan has agreed to accept nurses and caregivers from Vietnam under a bilateral economic partnership agreement on condition that they pass a Japanese language test, officials said.
Vietnam is the third country Japan has reached a nurse and caregiver agreement with under EPAs after Indonesia and the Philippines.
Nurses will receive training during their three-year stay while working at hospitals. Caregivers will be trained for two to four years. If they pass Japan’s national exams, they will be allowed to keep working.
Due to the difficulties posed by the language barrier, only 11.3 percent of the Indonesian and Filipino nurses passed Japan’s national nursing exam in fiscal 2011, which ended last month.
Vietnamese nurses and caregivers will receive Japanese lessons for about one year and take a Japanese language test in their home country.
They will be allowed to come to Japan if they are able to speak enough Japanese to hold everyday conversations.
The first group of Vietnamese nurses and caregivers is expected to visit Japan in the spring of 2014.
