Key facts
- Japan is reallocating 20,000 foreign worker visa slots to the nursing care sector.
- The country faces critical staffing shortages in nursing homes.
- The government aims to improve pay and working conditions to attract foreign nurses.
- Language barriers are a significant hurdle for foreign nurse recruitment.
- Nursing professional schools are experiencing closures and recruitment difficulties.
Japan is facing a critical shortage of nurses, prompting warnings from the head of the country's largest professional nursing body that attracting foreign talent requires better pay and eased language barriers. The government has responded by reallocating 20,000 foreign worker visa slots to the nursing care sector to address surging labor demand, a move that keeps the total care worker limit at 160,700. This comes as nursing professional schools are experiencing closures and recruitment difficulties, with an average occupancy rate below 80%. The country's rapidly aging population and shrinking workforce are driving a structural dependence on overseas labor.