The number of foreign workers in Japan¡¯s nursing care sector is rising. At training schools for ¡°certified care workers¡± ¡ª the sole national qualification in the industry ¡ª international students outnumbered Japanese students for the first time in 2025.
While foreign caregivers have become indispensable in Japan¡¯s rapidly aging society, they are facing not only language and cultural barriers but also frequent changes in the systems to guarantee their working status. Training schools and workplaces are still working out how to welcome them as part of much needed human resources in the industry.
At Hiraoka Care Worker School, a vocational college in Ogori, Fukuoka Prefecture, small classes were being held in preparation for the certified care worker?national examination held every January.
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