The government of Japan announced a partial amendment to the Immigration Act on November 28 of this year. Previously, international students pursuing studies in caregiving at professional training colleges and other institutions have not been able to work in Japan as caregivers, even if they acquired the national qualification of Certified Caregiver, except within the framework of one of the economic partnership agreements with the Philippines, Indonesia, or Vietnam.

 

However, this revision to the Immigration Act adds Caregiving as a residence status in Japan and enables citizens of other countries who possess the Japanese Certified Caregiver qualification to work as caregivers in Japan. The number of international students pursuing studies in the field of caregiving in Japan will undoubtedly increase in the future. Currently, the system for the national qualification of Caregiver is somewhat complicated in Japan and is in a state of transition. The pathway to studying caregiving at a professional training college in Japan and obtaining the qualification of Caregiver is illustrated in the chart below.

 

 

The following schools in the Jikei Group of Colleges offer programs where students can obtain the national qualification of Caregiver.

 

• Tokyo College of Welfare
• Saitama College of Welfare
• Osaka College of Health and Welfare
• Kobe College of Medical Welfare, Sanda Campus