Name: Aging Japan Looks to the Philippines for Care
Uploaded: 2014-05-02T06:05:11.000Z
Duration: 4 min 21 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Adverbs of manner

He started studying Japanese just one year ago.

Crual is among a thousand Filipino workers who

are here under an economic free-trade agreement.

Last year, the Philippines  agreed to reduce tariffs

on Japanese exports if  Japan allowed caregivers

and nurses to look after  its aging community.

Japan didn't necessarily need caregivers.

The Filipino government asked the Japanese to

take in their caregivers as part of the trade agreement.

Japan agreed. That's how this program began.

Under the trade agreement, caregivers must

complete a rigorous three- to four-year program.

That includes months of language training,

Workers must earn a Japanese license at the end

Masahiro Hachiya says it's already raised many concerns.

His organization helps place foreign workers in

He says nursing homes have called, complaining

The language barrier is a constant source of frustration.

Hachiya blames a broad-based agreement that

The caregivers came here without any sense

of the purpose of this program. That was the problem.

In other words, nursing homes wanted to help

The caregivers who came just wanted to work.

Caregivers and nurses have their own concerns.

Crual says his friends are upset over low pay.

They're earning around 100,000 yen [U.S.$1,103] a month.

You cannot live a decent life if you are earning

back home, frustrated by co-workers who refused to help.

They are telling them, "Why don't you go to

Canada, Australia, United States of America

If you are here in Japan you need to speak

Concerns over the program come at a critical

time for Japan. The country's population is

rapidly aging, while the  overall population declines.

Those 65 and older make up  nearly a quarter of

the population now. That number is expected to

Miyoko Miyazawa, with Eisei Hospital, says

Twenty-five years, 50 years from now, we will be asking

ourselves, "Who's going to look after these people?"

I don't think it will be enough to rely solely

Miyazawa says Japan must open its doors to

foreign workers without placing  limits on their stay.

She says it's unrealistic to expect foreigners to

when only half of the native Japanese speakers

or try too hard to place these workers in a

Japanese mold, I fear these workers will opt to go to other countries.

change the terms of the trade agreement yet.

And Crual says he isn't expecting them to.

I know if I study hard I can pass the exam.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Aging Japan Looks to the Philippines for Care

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population

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complicated