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LEAD: Indonesia caregivers, nurses arrive in Japan on bilateral EPA accord+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Aug. 7_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS)
A total of 205 Indonesian caregivers and nurses arrived in Japan on Thursday, the first batch of recruits for jobs in Japan under a bilateral economic partnership agreement that took effect July 1.
Their coming represents Japan's first full-fledged acceptance of foreign workers in the medical and nursing-care fields, which face serious labor shortages.
But concerns persist in some quarters over the possible worsening of labor conditions for Japanese nurses and caregivers because of an influx of foreign coworkers.
For the new policy to take hold, Japan faces the urgent task of creating a living environment in which the foreign nurses and caregivers can overcome the differences in language, religion and culture.
The first group, which arrived Thursday, comprises 104 nurses and 101 caregivers, most of them in their 20s, with women accounting for more than 60 percent.
After arriving at Narita International Airport near Tokyo and Central Japan International Airport near Nagoya, they moved on to training institutions in different parts of the country.
They have concluded employment contracts with 98 institutions including hospitals and nursing facilities in 34 of Japan's 47 prefectures and are set to begin working in January or February 2009 after training for half a year.
A 25-year-old man planning to work at a hospital in Tochigi Prefecture said he came over to learn about advanced medical technology and would like to challenge for a Japanese nursing qualification after three years.
The Indonesians will go through Japanese language, lifestyle and other training programs in six facilities in Tokyo, Osaka and Kanagawa prefectures, and other places.
Another three who have already passed the necessary Japanese-language proficiency exam are expected to follow later this month and begin working in September.
Under the bilateral agreement, Japan will accept 600 caregivers and 400 nurses in two years, with half of them arriving in the first year.
But with applications remaining sluggish at less than half of the target, those involved in the implementation process are expected to consider ways to improve recruitment for the second year on.
The caregivers are required to return to Indonesia if they fail to obtain national qualification within four years of their arrival, and the nurses will have to do the same within three years.
In Indonesia, no qualification is needed to become a caregiver. All arriving Indonesians, though, have nursing qualifications for Indonesia.
Copyright ? 2008 Kyodo News International, Inc.
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