Indonesian nurses, caregivers prepare to work in Japan

By Christine T Tjandraningsih

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rjd_jr at 08:26 AM JST - 7th August

Best of luck to them, they will do great, and increase their standard of living, education, and opportunities. Great for them.
OgieDoggie at 08:37 AM JST - 7th August

As long as they can get over the language barrier it will work. We've been doing this in the USA for many years but I had one when I was spending the night in Intensive Care and my nurse could not speak English and I sure wasn't in any condition to use sign language (not with all the tubes they had in me) - just a heads up from someone who's lived thru this in another country already. Just make sure they know the language and you should do OK.
rajakumar at 08:49 AM JST - 7th August

Indonesian islands people to work in japan islands. Good for the island people of both nation.
sk4ek at 08:52 AM JST - 7th August

Solarbuster--while I clearly support the efforts to supplement the domestic pool of nursing candidates with foreign professionals, I also agree with you that the role of nurses in the industry (and this is not limited to Japan, by any means) is still woefully underappreciated, in Japan a good one or two decades behind the considerable progress made in the U.S. and a few other countries. The Japan Nursing Federation has never enjoyed the clout or the visibility of its brother organization, and they have traditionally focused their efforts more on recruiting new nurses to the profession than on influencing legislation--something the JMA is, of course, supremely skilled at doing.

Bringing in foreign nurses is not something the JNF is wholeheartedly behind; they are concerned, obviously, that doing so will degrade whatever progress they HAVE made in terms of status and wages--and that is certainly a legitimate concern. But they also realize that, given the current shrinking population, and the general lack of interest in the medical and care industries, NOT doing something would be subjecting their members to even greater hardships in terms of longer working hours and more demanding workplaces.
wanderlust at 09:10 AM JST - 7th August

Also very refreshing to hear of a Muslim adapting to another country's culture and expectations, in a highly practical way, without compromising any of their beliefs or values, instead of demanding that they change and accommodate them, as is usually heard.

A good example to others around the world.
Dogdog at 10:04 AM JST - 7th August

>

Also very refreshing to hear of a Muslim adapting to another country's culture and expectations,

Give it one generation, after they've brought their husbands over (the visa will probably be dowry enough) and after they've reared their first generation of 'Muslim Japanese', then we'll have the usual displays of Islamic fundementalism in the streets of Tokyo demanding the implementation of Sharia law.

Oh and before someone points out that this is different from the muslim influx into western Europe, these are guest workers and not migrants, well that's how Germany started in the 1960's with their guest worker program.

Japan should take care workers from non-muslim countries (Thailand, Phillipines or Vietnam) and not make the same mistake as western Europe.
LIBERTAS at 10:54 AM JST - 7th August

I hope the institutions where they are to work remember that these are "people" not robots or machines, and make every effort to provide for their total wellbeing, unlike they do for Japanese workers! They can't just bring these people in, work them to death, and then order a new batch after they send the burnt out one home!
Triumvere at 11:39 AM JST - 7th August

Far better than working as a maid in Saudi Arabia.
Smythe at 12:18 PM JST - 7th August

How true Triumvere how true. It is a pity that Canada is not doing the same thing for so many of our nurses, once graduated go to higher paying jobs then in Canada.

ALSO Cdn hospitals are overly short of staff that will keep the hospitals clean & believe me Cdn people are dying in the hospitals because things are not as clean as they should be.
WMD at 12:40 PM JST - 7th August

LIBERTAS

They can't just bring these people in, work them to death, and then order a new batch after they send the burnt out one home!

I'm sure this is exactly what will happen. This is japan where the worker has no rights and the foreigner is just a "thing" to be played with and then discarded with the gomi.

This is nothing but cheap easily exploited labor.
dontpanic at 04:52 PM JST - 7th August

Its a good thing that Japan can attract these skilled workers to service its population. I hope the Japanese government isnt adding to the skills drain and helps the Indonesians fund training for their replacements back home.

Also, the Muslim girl making small changes to accomodate working in a Catholic hospital is a great example of religous tolerance many of us could learn from.
thedeath at 05:28 PM JST - 7th August

are they coming to train some j-doctors and nurses not to re-use a needle?
japanauthority at 10:20 PM JST - 7th August

I'm sure they will be appreciated by those in need, but resented by their local neighbourhood co-operatives. Only now when the uni (or sea urchin if you will) is really hitting the fan, does this insular inward-focused racist society grudgingly accept a rather minimal number of foreign helpers. Too little, too late. Sink and scream. Lucky for the Indonesians they can just get back on a boat and go home a few years later. Not like the locals who can collectively drown.
some14some at 10:42 PM JST - 7th August

i just hope caregivers do not become care seekers within few months.
koroke at 11:05 PM JST - 10th August

"i just hope caregivers do not become care seekers within few months." i know what you mean....>>>> becoming an illegal in the country!