Two Indonesian vowed Friday to do their best to pass the Japanese
national qualification exams within three to four years to work as a
nurse and a caregiver in Japan.
Erli Ridwan, a 35-year-old male nurse from Ache, and Danta, a
28-year-old female nurse from central Java, said at the Japan National
Press Club that they are eager to learn advanced nursing science and
technology in Japan and adapt themselves to Japanese society.
They arrived in Japan on Thursday to work in a program under a
bilateral free trade agreement.
”As a pioneer, I’d like to overcome hurdles (to long-term employment
in Japan) and do my best to prepare for the qualification exam,”
Ridwan said in Indonesian.
He has eight years of work experience in a Jakarta hospital as a nurse
and is scheduled to work at a Tokyo hospital after a six-month
training program in Japanese language and lifestyle.
Danta, who does not have a family name, has also pledged to strive to
pass the examination. ”Even if I fail, I will bring back to Indonesia
what I experienced in Japan. I’d like to learn about the diligence,
kindness and discipline of the Japanese people,” she said in Indonesian.
Danta has worked as a nurse in Indonesia. But she applied as a
caregiver in Japan because she is interested in helping elderly
people. A nursing home for the aged in Yokohama is scheduled to accept
her after her training.
Ridwan and Danta are among 205 Indonesian candidates for nurses and
caregivers to arrive in Japan as the first batch of recruits for jobs
in Japan.
Under the bilateral agreement, Japan will accept 600 caregivers and
400 nurses in two years, half of them arriving in the first year.
The caregivers are required to return to Indonesia if they fail to
obtain the national qualification within four years of their arrival,
and nurses will have to do the same within three years.
Ridwan and Danta said at a press conference their salaries in Japan
will definitely be higher than in Indonesia, but that is natural
because the salaries reflect local living costs.
Critics say the Japanese system of accepting Indonesian nurses and
caregivers is too strict. They speculate that the policy is intended
to prevent foreign workers from staying in Japan over the long term
because Japanese society is not ready to fully accept them.
Indonesian Ambassador to Japan Jusuf Anwar, who attended the news
conference with the two, said he personally hopes Indonesian nurses
and caregivers will be able to work without too many restrictions.
Anwar also hopes Japan will accept Indonesian workers beyond the
two-year period agreed upon in the FTA.
The envoy added that the 500 slots available in the program for the
first year have not been filled. He said there was not enough time to
recruit them and Jakarta took time selecting ”high-quality” personnel.
Indonesians are the first to come to Japan as nurses and caregivers
under an FTA. Japan also has a similar arrangement with the
Philippines in an FTA, but the pact has not yet come into effect.
The bilateral FTA is formally known as the Japan-Indonesia Economic
Partnership Agreement. It came into effect on July 1.
sources : http://jief.biz/news/
