The Japanese government will provide 2.5 million yen scholarship to foreign nursing students. In return, the students will have to work in a care facility where they are assigned to stay for three to five years. This program aims to solve the manpower shortage of the country’s health sector.

The government changed the immigration law to invite more caregivers to be trained in Japanese care facilities. Under this new law, Japan will accept about 60,000 caregivers in the next five years. Some prefectures also provide Japanese language courses to foreign nursing students. Yoko Amari, the representative director of the Overseas Careers Development Association, stated that it is important to build good support to the foreign caregivers in the community they are in.