Some of us are born to lead, but some are born to help others, and these people take great joy in it. Caregiving jobs are prominent in Japan, crucial to taking care of the aging population that laid a solid foundation for its economy.
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The Essence of Elderly Care
It has been said that the elderly were the ones who paved the way for us and prepared the “present” we are living in today. Hence, it is now our obligation, the younger generation, to give back to them by providing the love, care, and support that they deserve. Many family members of the elderly, however, can hardly fulfill this duty on their own for a variety of reasons. As an alternative, elderly care is rampantly entrusted to caregivers.
The Need for Caregivers
In terms of the elderly, Japan has taken up the number one spot in the world ranking of countries with the largest aging populations, after tallying 28.1% of its population aging 65 years old and above. By 2065, the percentage is predicted to increase and about one in 2.6 people will be senior citizens.
※ Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, "Annual Report on the Ageing Society [Summary] FY 2019," p.3
This rapid growth of the aging population has resulted in the urgent need of Japan for caregivers - a need that Japan cannot sustain with its own citizens. In order to address this national concern, Japan has opened its doors a bit wider and allowed entry to foreign nurses and caregivers who wish to work in the country. According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Japan will be needing an estimate of 60,000 caregivers in the next five years to look after elderly residents staying in nursing homes or residences and help them out in their daily activities. Caregiver jobs in Japan are open to anyone who is willing to embrace this occupation and ready to work full time or on a part-time basis with negotiable hours of work per week.
※ Philippine News Agency, "Japan needs 60K caregivers: POEA"
Writer's Pick
General Job Description
Caregiving jobs in Japan vary in the work assignment and scope of work. Your agency could send you to a specific home of an elderly and work at their own residence, or you can also be sent to work in nursing homes and other elderly facilities. This factor, including the scope of work, can affect your salary. In terms of scope of work, it also varies depending on the needs of your client and on the guidelines set by your agency. However, the following are some of the general duties and obligations of a caregiver in Japan.
Personal Hygiene
Maintaining good personal hygiene is very important especially for the elderly because it promotes comfort, health, and a feeling of neatness. It also prevents body odor and even future health problems caused by insanitation. This is one of the main responsibilities of caregivers - to attend to the personal hygiene of its clients. Giving a bath, helping in using a toilet, cleaning up after being sick, brushing the teeth, washing and fixing the hair, and caring for the nails are some of the common duties of a caregiver to maintain its client’s personal hygiene.
General Care and Medication Management
Caregivers are also obliged to provide the elderly with assistance in their activities of daily living (ADL). This may include help in food preparation and feeding, in moving around the house either by foot or wheelchair and even in some house chores like cleaning and doing the dishes. Caregivers are also expected to keep the elderly a company in order to avoid them feeling alone and sad. So, caregivers might need to play games with them or have a nice chat over a cup of coffee or tea. These may sound easy and relaxing, but these are actually important to maintain the well-being of the client.
Another important task of a caregiver is medication management. This crucial task involves making sure that the client is taking all the prescribed medications and following the correct dosage, ensuring sufficient medical supplies and that they are well-kept, and other health-related matters including doctor appointments. These tasks are vital in ensuring the health and safety of the client and in preventing complications of existing medical issues and health concerns.
Special Needs Response
Caregivers must be ready to deal with and respond to certain situations involving the special needs of their clients. Since aging can affect the well-being of a person, caregivers must be capable of dealing with clients who have some behavioral issues, trauma, and mental conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. These concerns are often specified on the job description so that applicants will be aware of the situation and can hereby prepare themselves.
As you can see, caregiving jobs are not entirely easy but require some long patience and hard work. This means that a caregiving career is only meant for people who take joy in taking care of others especially those who have a soft heart for the elderly. Because if you have this inherent initiative, you will find caregiving as a gratifying obligation rather than a frustrating job.
Minimum Requirements and Qualifications
As per minimum requirements, work experience is not imperative but applicants are required to obtain a proper visa and working permit. The conversational level of Japanese and the ability to read and write hiragana and katakana is also a much-needed qualification. Some agencies and clients though have their own specific qualifications such as experience requirements in handling patients with behavioral issues and mental conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. These qualifications will be specified in the job description.
As for the visa requirement, one way is to work while studying to take the national care worker qualification exam while under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). This means being committed to learning Japanese as well, as the exam is in Japanese. However, to combat the need for more workers immediately as well as the difficulty of the exam, Japanese government has introduced a new Status of Residence called a Specified Skilled Worker visa. In order to qualify for this type of visa, an applicant should pass the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test, have nursing care experience, and take an additional skills test to confirm the level of skills an applicant has. Only those applicants who have completed a Technical Intern Training are exempted from taking the exam.
※ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, "Specified Skilled Worker"
POEA Requirements
For Filipinos, you have to apply through the POEA, the agency has its own set of requirements for their applicants. For example, POEA requires the applicants to be a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Nursing, with or without a license. If not, the applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in any course and a TESDA National Certificate II in Caregiving. Before sending them to Japan, its applicants are also required to undertake intensive Japanese language training and pass the N4 or N3 Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). You can check online for the list of other agencies who offer caregiver jobs in Japan.
For aspiring non-Filipinos applicants, you can inquire more details about the job application, specific qualifications, and process through the Japanese embassy of your country of origin. Japan has been actively recruiting caregivers from Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia along with other countries especially focused in Asia.
Other Specific Qualifications
Another qualification to look into is the gender requirement. Some caregiving jobs in Japan are gender locked meaning that jobs are only open to a particular gender. Most gender locked jobs require female workers only. This should also be taken into consideration before applying for the job. However, there are agencies that accept both male and female workers as well.
Wrap Up
The world is aging and we, the younger generation, owe our grandparents for the present we are living in today. So, it is our obligation to give back to them by providing the best elderly care. Addressing this vital cause, Japan is in urgent need of caregivers to look after its aging population. If you meet the qualifications mentioned above, especially the immanent desire to take care of other people and the soft-heart for the elderly, then promote elderly care and come to work in Japan as a caregiver!
