Aging Japan gets Serious About Immigration

Aging Japan gets serious about immigration
By Isabel Reynolds
Reuters
August 6, 2008; 8:05 PM

TOKYO (Reuters) - Jakarta nurse Yanti Kartina left her family in Indonesia and joined 200 other nurses moving to Japan where a rapidly growing elderly population has created a desperate need for carers in old age homes and hospitals.

The nurses, who are expected to learn Japanese and requalify as they work, are seen as an important test case as Japan struggles with the world's fastest growing elderly population and a workforce that is forecast to shrink, potentially devastating the economy.
"Japan is the first developed country to face this kind of population crisis," said Hidenori Sakanaka, a former immigration bureau chief in the capital of Tokyo who now heads a think tank.

With more than a quarter of Japanese expected to be aged over 65 by 2015, the country faces serious economic consequences, including labor shortages that could weigh on GDP.

HIGH HURDLES
Many say that despite the desperate need for workers, Japan is setting hurdles too high for the latest batch of immigrants.

Abridged
SOURCE: WashingtonPost
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