Young Indonesians train as caregivers for Japan's ageing population

This scenario is one of many she’s practised as a student at Onodera User Run, a private institution for prospective young Indonesians dreaming of working in Japan.

Maesaroh and her 38 cohorts are training to become caregivers for the elderly in Japan. Besides learning the language, the students are also learning how to look after their future clients - how to put slippers on the feet of someone who can't do it himself or determine which utensil to use for which type of food. Maesaroh is working hard to make sure her career will flourish in Japan.

“It’s a great country as it has a strong culture of discipline,” she says. “And I think the reason Japan chose us is that Indonesian youth are more capable of caring for the elderly.”

The school established in late 2022 is part of the growing number of institutions offering training for young people over the age of 18 seeking to enrol in a Japanese government initiative to employ foreigners with special skills to work in various industries.

Some students like Maesaroh come from vocational schools while others have a bachelor's degree. After completing the courses which run for about six months the students will take a Special Skilled Worker exam, which in Maesaroh's case, would be on caregiving. Students will also need to pass a Japanese language proficiency test to work in Japan. Onodera User Run also assists the students with their applications and placement.

Japan is the world's most advanced ageing society, with people who are 65 or older accounting for 28% of the population, compared with second-ranked Italy's 23 Percent, according to United Nations data.

The birth rate plunged to a new record low last year, according to official estimates, dropping below 800,000 for the first time, amid a rapidly shrinking working population.

A study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) affiliated with the foreign ministry assumed Japan would lose more than 10% of its domestic workforce over the next two decades.

Onodera User Run Principal, Kamila Mansjur, said the initiative could potentially help to resolve both Japan's and Indonesia’s population issues.

“The elderly population in Japan is substantial… while in Indonesia, every year, we have a population increase of about three million. Yet here, we have our challenge which is the lack of jobs," she said.

The Japanese Embassy’s Labour Attache, Hiroki Sasaki, told Reuters that there are an estimated 340,000 special skilled job vacancies in Japan but only around 130,000 of these are filled. A foreign workforce, therefore, is becoming increasingly necessary, he added.

As of December 2022, more than 16,000 Indonesians were working under this scheme, the second biggest number after Vietnam.

Japan needs about four times more foreign workers by 2040 to achieve the growth path the government has outlined in its economic forecast, a group of Tokyo-based public think tanks said in February.

Reuters