Abstract
This chapter examines how different migration systems enable or constrain migrant care workers, and the long-term impact on the care sector. The state-sponsored migration project that began in 2008 has positively impacted Japanese care facilities and transformed the workplace to become more inclusive toward diverse practices. This ‘successful incorporation’ led to the deregulation of migration policies, relegating authority to the market. Dominated by private agencies, however, this temporary labor migration scheme significantly restricts migrant entitlement. Instead of systematically differentiating between Japanese and migrants, while stratifying migrants themselves, the new scheme should protect migrants’ rights while ensuring decent care working conditions.
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Notes
- 1.
In the category of institutional care, just 44% of care workers are certified (MHLW, 2010).
- 2.
Insurance payments are required for those who are above 40 years old. When the LTCI started in 2000, the national average for monthly payments was 2911 yen (US $27). By 2018, it had risen to 6771 yen (US $62) (MHLW, n.d.).
- 3.
Caregiver schools cannot fill their student slots, and enrollment is decreasing every year. The percentage of new enrolled students decreased from 57% in 2014 to 44% in 2018 (Inoue, 2018). Among 6564 graduates of caregiving schools in 2018, 5656 entered the old-age care labor market (Information obtained from Nihon Kaigofukushishi Yosei Shisetsu Kyokai 2020).
- 4.
Although nurses and care workers are included in the EPA provisions, this chapter focuses only on old-age care workers, since these two occupations are different in terms of education, expertise, and the labor market.
- 5.
The recruitment of nurses from countries that lack medical professionals invokes ethical concerns—a matter that is hardly discussed in Japan. Interview with the Ministry of Health in Indonesia in February 2020. For research on EPA returnees, see Kuruniati et al., 2017.
- 6.
Three years of experience are required to take the exam, which migrants take in the fourth year. Technically, they can take the exam twice.
- 7.
Interview with a representative of an old-age care worker association in 2011.
- 8.
Interview with an MHLW government official in 2018.
- 9.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso said that Japan has been unified under a single language and ethnic identity for the past 2000 years. He later apologized, following strong criticism that such commentary neglects the diversity of the nation (Japan Times, 14 January 2020).
- 10.
Interviewed in March 2019 in Eastern Japan.
- 11.
Interviewed in March 2019 in Eastern Japan.
- 12.
Interviewed in July 2019 in Eastern Japan.
- 13.
Information obtained from the MHLW.
- 14.
Interviewed in July 2011 and March 2018 in Western Japan.
- 15.
Interviews with 12 migrant care worker returnees in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
- 16.
Interviews with 12 migrant care worker returnees revealed that they are working as teachers, instructors, interpreters at Japanese companies, nurses, nurse assistants, call center employees, or self-employed workers. Some are also unemployed.
- 17.
This is still not a general rule for all care facilities, however.
- 18.
Observed during fieldwork in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia during 2015–2020.
- 19.
The Japan Federation of Bar Association (JFBA) has repeatedly submitted a statement to abolish the TITP, while the Solidarity Network for Migrants in Japan (SMJ), an umbrella organization supporting migrants, has been negotiating with the government twice a year on human rights violations under TITP. This issue has also been covered by journalists (Sunai, 2019).
- 20.
This refers to level 4 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at the time of entry (ability to understand basic Japanese).
- 21.
Interviewed in March 2018 in Hanoi.
- 22.
Interviewed in February 2020 in Jakarta. The interview was conducted together with A. Sadamatsu, K. Hirano, and W.H. Istiqomah.
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Acknowledgments
This research has been funded by JSPS Kakenhi 19K2127 (Reiko Ogawa), Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (Yuko Hirano), and the Japan Center for Economic Research (Reiko Ogawa).
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Ogawa, R. (2021). When Local Meets Global: The Changing Face of Old-Age Care in Japan. In: Horn, V., Schweppe, C., Böcker, A., Bruquetas-Callejo, M. (eds) The Global Old Age Care Industry. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2237-3_2
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