Indonesian nurses look forward to work in Japan

JAKARTA —

Sahilun cheered happily as he found his name on a list of 174 Indonesian nurses who will go to Japan in August under the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement or IJEPA reached last year.

‘‘I was so happy. Finally, I can work in Japan,’’ the 31-year-old nurse in a clinic in Purwokerto, a town in Indonesia’s Central Java Province, said, grinning as he received congratulations from his friends.

The father of a boy will be one among 1,000 nurses and caregivers to be accepted by Japan over the next two years, starting from Aug 3.

It will be the first time Japan accepts nurses and caregivers from overseas on a full-scale basis. The IJEPA itself will be effective from July 1.

Under the agreement, the Japanese government is to accept 200 nurses and 300 caregivers each year.

Due to short notice—only three days before a competency test was held Thursday—only 251 nurses sent applications this year, according to Rini Rachmawati, head of the Evaluation and Monitoring Division of the National Center for the Empowerment of Health Professions and International Workforce at the Health Ministry.

‘‘Among them, only 180 could meet the requirements, such as to have graduated from nursing academies in Indonesia and have at least two years of experience as a nurse, to follow the competency test,’’ Rachmawati said.

Among the 180 participants, 174 passed the test.

To meet the quota of 200 nurses to be sent this year, Rachmawati said her center has invited 70 nurses to take an additional competency test, but so far only 30 confirmed their attendance.

In a related development, registrations for caregivers have begun.

No test will be held for the caregivers and no working experience is required for them, but in addition to being nursing graduates, they must be certified as caregivers.

Among the nurses participating in the test, many speak good English and some Japanese.

The Indonesian nurses, however, have not met some requirements needed by Japan either for the position of registered nurses, nurse assistants or nurse aides, so they will be called nurse candidates.

The Indonesian government has determined that the standard salary for a nurse candidate should be at least 200,000 yen a month, and 175,000 yen for caregivers.

For Sahilun, who speaks Japanese, however, it was not economic reasons that have encouraged him to go to Japan.

‘‘I want to work in Japan mainly because I want to improve my nursing career,’’ he said.

His dream to work in Japan came for the first time when he was involved in an internship program at a steel factory in Kitakyushu from 2000 to 2003.

A similar dream also led Suwarti to apply for the job.

‘‘Actually, Japan is one of the countries I have been dreaming to visit,’’ the 30-year-old nurse, who has been working for almost six years at the Cengkareng Regional Hospital in West Jakarta, said in English.

‘‘It’s a high-tech country that maintains its Eastern values and culture, has friendly people and low rate of crimes,’’ she added.

Asked about possible difficulties in learning Japanese, Suwarti, who wears a Muslim hijab, quickly replied, ‘‘I know it’s difficult, but I’ll try hard to learn the language and its kanji.’‘

In the first six months, candidates will receive Japanese-language and cultural training and work at hospitals or nursing homes for the elderly. In February, they must attend a Japanese language exam and if they fail to pass the exam, they will be sent back to Indonesia.

The caregivers and nurse candidates must also pass national exams within three and four years, respectively, to remain in Japan and they will be forced to leave the country if they fail the exams.

Four years in Japan, according to Athihul Rachman Indrawan, will be enough to learn new things and develop his nursing skills.

‘‘I will bring my experiences I obtained in Japan to develop the nursing profession in Indonesia,’’ said the 25-year-old, who has been working at a local hospital in Jakarta for more than two years.

But he laughed when asked if he wants to stay longer in Japan.

‘‘I’ll think it over later. The most important thing now is how to improve my nursing capacity,’’ he said.

The process of recruitment was held following the signing of a memorandum of understanding last month between Indonesia’s National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers and the Japan International Cooperation of Welfare Services.

Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno has expressed hope that in the future Japan will allow a bigger quota for Indonesia as the country has a high number of graduates from 770 nursing schools.

About 200 nurses are sent to work abroad annually, particularly to Brunei, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Japan has also been negotiating with the Philippines on a similar accord that includes the acceptance of Filipino nurses.

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Latest 15 of 24 Total Comments Show All

MPLS2 at 09:23 PM JST - 9th June

don;t forget that the money they earn in japan, could very well translate to a very tidy sum back in Indonesia..
OssanULTRA at 04:12 AM JST - 10th June

Well so much for the "All of Asia hates Japan" nonsense we've been hearing from the Cant-get-over-WWII crowd.
VoXman at 04:23 AM JST - 10th June

I think this will go down as does all plans to recruit foreigners to Japan to fill in the gap left by Japanese. BADLY! So badly, I think that the Indonesian gov will end up protesting the physical and mental abuse of these people. I think they will get treated worse than the filipinas on entertainment visas. The only Gaijin who fight back here is the westerners. So the lack of submissiveness is seen as a strength by the Japanese. Sorry! But darker skin folks get treated really badly in Japan and any poster who believes otherwise doesn't read the news.
outofmydepth at 06:12 AM JST - 10th June

i am happy that people want to come here and work. let`s hope they are treated with the dignity and respect that healthcare workers deserve. i am looking forward to a more diverse society.
rjd_jr at 10:17 AM JST - 10th June

Sarcasm and others, I wouldn't worry one iota about the habitual naysayers here. Funny, but I don't see any Indonesians here complaining about their treatment in Japan. The only ones here complaining are those bringing up non issues and doomsday scenarios, who have no concept of what it means to earn ten fold what they earn back home, and increase their living standards by the same amount. These Indonesians and others are fighting to work and live in Japan despite the naysayers that purport to speak for them, who have no clue as to what they are talking about.
nutsagain at 12:16 PM JST - 10th June

So when was the last time you spoke with an Indonesian in Japan, rjd? Apart from the OTTs (overseas technical trainees) who are having a great time with supported accommodations, plenty of social get togethers etc., I can point you to a few very dissatisfied South East asians. Plenty in fact. No, I'm wrong...? Make that the majority. You're call...
rjd_jr at 01:39 PM JST - 10th June

Well nutsagain, you can satisfy some of the people some of the time, but you certainly can't satisfy all of the people all of the time. A few disgruntled south east asians is hardly representative of the whole. Anywhere you go in the world someone will be disgruntled and unhappy regardless of the situation. That's human nature.

Again, this is raising their standard of living and pay. No need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, nothing is 100 percent perfect.
GG2141 at 04:30 PM JST - 10th June

Indonesian nurses look forward to work in Japan

Like every new experience in Japan, It's all "Yay!!" and "Whee" in the beginning.........and then the screaming begins.

Ohhh! the screaming. Those terrible screams.
vonion at 09:48 PM JST - 10th June

The only difference between these nurses and those Engrish teachers is they don't speak English, at least it's not their mother language.
thedeath at 01:03 PM JST - 11th June

i have never seen a gaijin salary man, working full time in a japanese company for over a year saying any good about japanese working culture!

this country is very interesting. the longer foreigner stay the more they involute in the culture the more they will hate it. it so difference than another country where foreigner would get a home sick at the first couple of month then they will get used to and go on with daily live when the time pass by.
rjd_jr at 02:24 PM JST - 11th June

Folks, let's not get this topic out of hand. This subject is about Indonesian nurses that are looking forward to working in Japan, excited about raising their standard of living from their home country. This is not about your anecdotes about what he said or she said about how bad this country is, etc. etc. Totally irrelevant to Indonesian nurses. Thanks.
Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land at 12:51 AM JST - 12th June

I don't know any Indonesian nurses. Wait! What was that on topic?!? I'm not sure! Oh no.....

These constant calls to stay "on topic" are excedingly tedious.
lipscombe at 09:50 AM JST - 12th June

These Indonesians and others are fighting to work and live in Japan despite the naysayers that purport to speak for them, who have no clue as to what they are talking about.

I lived in Indonesia for several years and Japan for almost a decade. very different mindsets in both places. the hospitals WILL take advantage of the indonesian nurses, as Japanese society customarily does with the brazilians, thais, chinese, koreans and philipinos working in the service industries here. its not naysaying rjr, its truth evident to anyone who lives here for a period of time
rjd_jr at 10:02 AM JST - 12th June

Right lipscombe, name me one country which doesn't 'take advantage' of foreign labor at cheaper wages or whatever other factors people here want to throw in. Are the people here going to speak up for them also?

Funny, with how "bad" things are in Japan for foreign workers the naysayers here whine about, there is absolutely no shortage of those filling out applications for these nursing jobs (sorry but as article above clearly points out a three day short notice meant "only" 251 applications were received).

If these people don't like it they don't have to apply and come to japan, yet they want to do so.

Sounds like typical sour grapes here from those who nitpick every little thing about japan without having a clue as to who they are "defending." Bottom line, standards of living are raised, first rate training is given.

End of story.
lipscombe at 09:14 AM JST - 14th June

read read read, I DO have a clue about who I am defending