(PDF) Globalization of Care and the Context of Reception of Southeast Asian Care Workers in Japan

Title Globalization of Care and the Context of Reception of

Southeast Asian Care Workers in Japan

Author(s) OGAWA, Reiko

Citation 東南アジア研究 (2012), 49(4): 570-593

Issue Date 2012-03

URL http://hdl.handle.net/2433/158297

Right

Type Departmental Bulletin Paper

Textversion publisher

Kyoto University

S

ou

t

heas

t

Asian

St

udie

s

,

Vol. 49

,

No. 4

,

March 201

2

570

G

lobalization of Care and the Context of Rece

p

tion

o

f Southeast Asian Care Workers in Ja

p

an

O

GAWA

Re

i

k

o

*

Abst

r

act

The si

g

nin

g

of the Economic Partnership A

g

reement (EPA) between Japan and the Philippines (2006) and

J

apan and Indonesia (2007

)

1

)

introduced a new field of inquir

y

which was never experienced in Japan, migra

-

ti

on and care. Th

i

s paper exam

i

nes the nexus of two

i

ssues to pos

i

t

i

on the m

i

grat

i

on of long-term care

workers from Southeast Asia to Japan under the EPA within the context of globalization of care work b

y

e

xaminin

g

the three areas: 1. The institutional framework; 2. Acceptance of forei

g

n care workers at care

fac

i

l

i

t

i

es; and 3. D

i

lemmas result

i

ng from th

i

s m

i

grat

i

on pro

j

ect

.

The paper first explores the nature of the migration pro

j

ect under EPA and the socio-economic

forces that shape the pro

j

ect. Second, it examines the opinions of the care facilities that emplo

y

ed the first

batch of Indones

i

an care workers through quant

i

tat

i

ve and qual

i

tat

i

ve research. F

i

nally,

i

t d

i

scusses the

d

ilemma that the state-sponsored migration pro

j

ect under EPA introduces. While the migrant care work

-

e

rs are well integrated and have contributed positivel

y

to the qualit

y

of care, the current scheme does not

appear to m

i

t

i

gate the labor shortage and

i

t may not be susta

i

nable

i

n the long run

.

Keywor

d

s:

g

lobalization, mi

g

ration, care, Southeast Asia,

g

ender, Economic Partnership A

g

reement (EPA

)

I

n

t

r

oduct

i

on

The m

ig

rat

i

on of health and care workers

i

nclud

i

n

g

doctors, nurses, lon

g

-term care workers and

domestic workers is inextricabl

y

linked to the globalization process that is increasing cross-border

movements of capital, commodities, information and people. Numerous scholarships on mi

g

ration and

care have enriched the theoretical and empirical understandin

g

of

g

lobalization,

g

ender and care work

in the past decades. Scholars have shed li

g

ht on the central role women mi

g

rants from developin

g

countr

i

es play

i

n f

i

ll

i

ng the gap between the state’s capac

i

ty to prov

i

de care and the actual need for care.

While global capitalism mobilizes highl

y

educated professionals toward urban centers, a large number

of women m

i

grants tend to concentrate

i

n the lower c

i

rcu

i

t, character

i

zed by “

i

nformal

i

zat

i

on,” where

emplo

y

ers downgrade the working conditions awa

y

from public scrutin

y

, where labor costs are lower

and d

i

ff

i

cult to re

g

ulate [Sassen 2002: 258].

Sassen succinctl

y

points out the link between economic globalization and migration; however, her

theoretical formulation does not take into account policies and institutional settin

g

s that allow the mi

g

ra-

*

小川

玲

子

，

F

acult

y

of Law, K

y

ushu Universit

y

, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japa

n

e-mail: reiogawa@law.k

y

ushu-u.ac.

jp

1

) The Japan-Ph

i

l

i

pp

i

nes EP

A

was s

i

gned

i

n September 2006 and rat

i

f

i

ed

i

n October 2008. The Japan-Indones

i

a

E

PA was signed in 2007 and approved b

y

the Japanese Diet in Ma

y

2008

.

571

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

t

i

on to take place at the nat

i

onal level. The author ar

g

ues that the response toward

g

lobal

i

zat

i

on has

been embedded within the national territor

y

, structured b

y

internal constraints, and shaped b

y

local

policies and institutions. Contrar

y

to the popular belief that the state is declining under globalization,

the globalization of care, as instituted in Japan, establishes that the state is creativel

y

responding to the

challenges posed b

y

globalization and the rapid demographic change within Japan.

The two

i

ssues new to Japan, m

i

grat

i

on and care, have not yet been stud

i

ed comprehens

i

vely.2

)

Compared to the West where migrants filter into different sectors of the societ

y

, the integration of

m

i

grants

i

n Japan rema

i

ns l

i

m

i

ted both

i

n terms of quant

i

ty and qual

i

ty [M

i

ya

ji

ma 2003; Koma

i

2003].3

)

The mi

g

ration of nurses and care worker

s

4)

under the bilateral a

g

reement enabled Japanese medical

and long-term care

i

nst

i

tut

i

ons to employ fore

i

gn workers on a substant

i

al scal

e

5)

for the f

i

rst t

i

me.

Since this is almost the first experience to emplo

y

foreign workers, various hospitals expressed concerns

regarding the migrants’ communication and nursing skills, ad

j

ustment to the workplace and the reac

-

tions of the patients and families [Kawa

g

uchi

et

al. 2008]. Similarl

y

, Japanese care workers, expressed

anxieties about the differences in lan

g

ua

g

e and culture.6) Despite these concerns, 47 hospitals and 53

care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es agreed to accept the f

i

rst batch of 208 Indones

i

an nurse and cert

i

f

i

ed care-worker cand

i-

date

s

7)

in 2

008

.

Th

i

s paper a

i

ms to s

i

tuate the m

i

grat

i

on of care workers from Southeast

A

s

i

a to Japan w

i

th

i

n the

context of the

g

lobalization of care work. It focuses on the institutional structures and policies that

shape the requ

i

rements under the Econom

i

c Partnersh

i

p

Ag

reement (EP

A

) and d

i

scusses the d

i

lemma

that it produces. Unlike the mi

g

ration of care workers elsewhere, the pro

g

ram under EPA is

g

overned

b

y

a bilateral agreement, and underpinned b

y

the intention to promote free trade. In other words, the

promotion of the migration of care workers to Japan is neither an immigration polic

y

nor a social polic

y

,

but a political decision to expand Japan’s market to Southeast Asia. However, the nature of care work,

2) In the recent six-volume

p

ublication titled

C

are: Its Ideas and Practice

s

[

Ueno

e

t al

.

2008], there is not a sin

g

le

chapter on global

i

zat

i

on and care.

3

) In 2009, the number of forei

g

ners in Japan was 2.1 million or 1.7

1

%

of the total population, amon

g

which 56.

9

%

d

o not have the permanent residenc

y

status [Japan, Homu-sho 2010].

4

) In this paper, the author uses the

g

eneric term “care worker” for those en

g

a

g

ed in lon

g

-term care

g

ivin

g

. The

t

erm “cert

i

f

i

ed care worker”

i

s an Engl

i

sh translat

i

on of the Japanese

“

k

a

ig

o fukush

i

sh

i

,

” wh

i

ch re

q

u

i

res a

nat

i

onal cert

i

f

i

cate. There

i

s another category, ”home helper,” wh

i

ch can be obta

i

ned after tra

i

n

i

ng at publ

i

c

a

nd private institutions

.

5) The first batch of Indonesian care workers arrived in August 2008, followed b

y

the Filipino care workers in Ma

y

2

009. B

y

2010, a total of 455 nurses and 669 care workers from Indonesia and the Philippines have entered

J

apan.

6

) Focus group discussion of young Japanese certified care workers conducted Oct. 14, 2008, at Kyushu University.

7

) The migrant care workers under EPA are called “candidates” until the

y

pass the national exam. However, the

t

erm “candidate” differs between nurses and care workers because the licensin

g

is different. Althou

g

h the

m

i

grant nurse cand

i

dates ma

y

have work

i

ng exper

i

ence as an Intens

i

ve Care or head nurse

i

n the

i

r home

countr

i

es, they w

i

ll work as nurse ass

i

stants who cannot undertake any med

i

cal treatments. Wh

i

le the au

-

t

onom

y

is strictl

y

defined for nurses undertaking medical care, the role of care worker is less clearl

y

defined

a

nd there is hardl

y

an

y

difference in the

j

ob description between a certified care worker and a non-certified care

wo

rker.

東南

アジア研究

49

巻

4

号

572

wh

i

ch prov

i

des personal serv

i

ces w

i

th

i

n an

i

nt

i

mate relat

i

onsh

i

p, ra

i

ses several quest

i

ons, wh

i

ch were

not relevant in the case of earlier migrants, who were largel

y

engaged in production work.

How are the forei

g

n care workers accepted in those Japanese lon

g

-term care institutions that have

little experience emplo

y

ing foreign workers? What are the intentions and expectations of the long-term

care institutions in accepting foreign care workers? What are the reactions of Japanese staff, the elderl

y

pat

i

ents and the commun

i

ty? What are the prospects of

i

ncorporat

i

ng fore

i

gn care workers

i

nto the

care labor market in Japan in the lon

g

run

?

W

i

th these quest

i

ons

i

n m

i

nd, th

i

s paper w

i

ll exam

i

ne f

i

rst the nature of the m

i

grat

i

on pro

j

ect

under the EPA and the socio-economic forces that sha

p

e it. It outlines the institutional structure that

governs the m

i

grat

i

on of care workers and the global and local dynam

i

cs that shape the m

i

gratory

framework. Second, it will review the responses of the care facilities, which emplo

y

ed the first batch

of Indonesian care workers based on the quantitative and qualitative research. Finall

y

, it will address

the dilemma that the

g

lobal mi

g

ration of care workers under EPA entails. Its

g

oal is to provide em-

pirical data about the concrete sites of encounter and en

g

a

g

ement in the field of care

g

ivin

g

that mi

g

ht

shape future

i

mm

i

grat

i

on pol

i

cy

i

n Japan.

II

M

igration of Care Workers under Economic Partnership Agreements

There

i

s an extens

i

ve body of research that has exam

i

ned m

i

grat

i

on and care work through a plethora

of approaches: within different temporalities from historical to more contemporar

y

forms of migration,

and within different anal

y

tical frameworks ranging from macro-level social s

y

stems, meso-level social

institutions and micro-level care

g

ivin

g

practices, or the combination of all three [Ehrenreich and

Hochschild 2002; Sassen 2002; Parreñas 2003; Cho

y

2003; Aguilar 2005; Oishi 2005; Zimmerman

et

a

l

.

2006; Constable 2007; Yeates 2009; Ito and

A

dach

i

2008]. Many scholarly works have

i

nvest

i

gated the

mi

g

ration of women from developin

g

countries to the developed countries to undertake feminized work

as domest

i

c helpers, nann

i

es and sex workers. These works ra

i

se

i

mportant

i

ssues such as the “

i

nter-

national division of reproductive labor” [Parreñas 2000], or “

g

lobal care chain” [Hochschild 2000], which

conceptual

i

zes the unequal d

i

str

i

but

i

on of care resources and

g

lobal strat

i

f

i

cat

i

on accord

i

n

g

to

g

ender

and ethnicit

y

.

Among these works, in order to locate the forces that perpetuate globalization of care theo reticall

y

,

Zimmerm

a

n

et

al

.

[2006] identif

y

four crises of care: 1) care deficit; 2) commodification of care; 3) role

of supranational or

g

anizations in shapin

g

care work; and 4) reinforcin

g

race and class stratification.

These four

i

ssues,

i

dent

i

f

i

ed by Z

i

mmerman, part

i

ally expla

i

n the m

i

grat

i

on of care workers to Japan

u

nder the EPA

.

A

ccord

i

ng to Z

i

mmerman, f

i

rst there

i

s a care def

i

c

i

t for both pa

i

d and unpa

i

d care. The demograph-

ics of Japan, including the world’s longest life expectanc

y

and the unprecedented increase of the aging

populat

i

on, aggravated by the low fert

i

l

i

ty rate, have prec

i

p

i

tated a s

i

tuat

i

on where care

i

s becom

i

ng

chronicall

y

short. Elderl

y

caring for the elderl

y

(ro-ro kai

g

o

)

is increasingl

y

becoming a common prac-

tice. Toda

y

, it is not uncommon to see a 65-

y

ear-old daughter taking care of a 90-

y

ear-old mother. In

2010, the percentage of the elderl

y

over 65

y

ears constituted 23.1

%

of the total

p

o

p

ulation with those

573

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

more than 75 shar

i

n

g

11.2

%

.

Th

i

s proport

i

on w

i

ll cont

i

nue to

i

ncrease. By 2013, 25.

2

%

o

f

the popula

-

tion will be more than 65

y

ears old and b

y

2035, it will rise to 33.

7

%

[Ja

p

an, Naikaku-fu 2011]. From

October 2006 to September 2007, approximatel

y

144,800 workers had left or changed

j

obs because the

y

needed to provide care for family members [

Asahi Shimbun

[

,

October 31

,

2009]. This drastic transfor

-

mation in the composition of the population makes a deep impact on the suppl

y

of and demand for care

wor

k.

Second, care has become a commodit

y

and has shifted from unpaid work to a service that can be

purchased

i

n the market. Respond

i

ng to the demograph

i

c changes and decreas

i

ng capac

i

ty of fam

i

l

i

es

to

p

rovide care themselves, an effort to shift care from the domestic s

p

here to the

p

ublic s

p

here was

supported throu

g

h the

i

ntroduct

i

on of Lon

g

-term Care Insurance (LTCI)

i

n 2000. The LTCI was

i

n

-

tended to socialize two facets: providing the means to emplo

y

professional care and furnishing a paid

workforce. As a consequence, care became partiall

y

relegated to the market. Reflecting the growing

numbers of the aging, the expenditure for LTCI continued to increase from 3.24 trillion

y

en in 2000 to

6.16 trillion yen in 2007 [

Asahi Shimbun

[

,

J

une 24, 2009

].

8)

In 2006, the number of people over 65

y

ears

old was 26 m

i

ll

i

on among wh

i

ch 3.6 m

i

ll

i

on or 13.

8

%

used the LTCI [

S

oeda 2008: 23]. However, the

retrenchment in social welfare expenditures and the economic downturn down

g

raded the value of care

work

i

n soc

i

al and monetary terms result

i

ng

i

n the ongo

i

ng shortage of care workers [Mor

i

kawa 2004]

.

Third, the

g

rowin

g

influence of supranational or

g

anizations and their impact in shapin

g

care work.

Z

i

mmerman argues that the loans prov

i

ded by supranat

i

onal econom

i

c organ

i

zat

i

ons such as the Inter

-

national Monetar

y

Fund and the World Bank require a decrease in public services, facilitate privatization

and serve as a powerful force in determining care provisions especiall

y

in developing countries. Although

the EPA between Japan and Southeast Asian countries is a bilateral a

g

reement to promote free trade

between the two states, it superseded the policies of the state in an unexpected wa

y

. The migration of

care workers was

i

ntroduced not as a labor pol

i

cy but was attached to the free trade agreement.

For the fourth

p

oint, Zimmerman demonstrates the reinforcement of stratification of race and class

at the global level. Many stud

i

es on gender and m

i

grat

i

on conf

i

rm the theory that the m

i

grat

i

on of

women from developing countries results in new international division of labor, which is hierarchicall

y

or

g

an

i

zed accord

i

n

g

to race,

g

ender and class

.

While the four crises of care, described b

y

Zimmerman above, are concomitant to the process of

the

g

lobalization of care in Japan, this paper discusses several issues that were not well examined in

the earlier research. First, building on the theories, the sub

j

ectivit

y

of the migrant care workers is

constituted within the nexus of immigration polic

y

and social welfare polic

y

thus differentl

y

con

-

structed. The author argues that the ways

i

n wh

i

ch the global

i

zat

i

on of care

i

s tak

i

ng place reflects

nation- specific patterns largel

y

shaped b

y

policies and institutions in the receiving countries that need

further elaborat

i

on.

Second, aside from the migration of nurses, the skills of the migrants have not being carefull

y

d

i

scussed. The author’s research team’s f

i

nd

i

n

g

s su

gg

est that althou

g

h nurses and care workers are

lumped together under the same EPA scheme, the occupations are ver

y

different [Hirano

et

al

.

2010

]

.

8

) Exchange rate US$=82 Japanese

y

en as of April 2011.

東南

アジア研究

49

巻

4

号

574

Wh

i

le the term, nurse, represents the same occupat

i

on un

i

versally, long-term careg

i

v

i

ng

i

s a rela-

tivel

y

new occupation de veloped in response to the aging population and the term, care worker, can

impl

y

different meanings in different countries. The distinctions between “skilled” and “unskilled”

var

y

based on political decisions within each countr

y

and obscures the diversit

y

within the various

occupations en

g

a

g

ed in care work.

F

i

nally, follow

i

ng Sassen’s work [2001; 2002] wh

i

ch conceptual

i

zes the global c

i

ty that serves as

magnets for migrant women working in low-pa

y

ing

j

obs in less regulated informal spaces, man

y

studies

on domest

i

c workers and nann

i

es focus on pr

i

vate homes as the workplace and ra

i

ses the

i

ssue of

protection of human ri

g

hts under less re

g

ulated workin

g

conditions [Constable 2007; Parreñas 2003;

A

nderson 2000]. In many countr

i

es, care work has been performed by m

i

grant domest

i

c workers who

provide around-the-clock care. The author argues that the vulnerabilit

y

of migrant women ma

y

come

not onl

y

from their occupations as domestic helpers or care workers per se but the organization of their

j

ob location also contributes to their social status and affects working conditions. In the institutional

settin

g

s where

g

overnment re

g

ulations such as staff ratio and workin

g

conditions are enforced, the

work

i

ng env

i

ronment has been regulated and formal

i

zed, decreas

i

ng the vulnerab

i

l

i

ty of the m

i

grant

worker

s.

A

lthough the care-worker m

i

grat

i

on to Japan

i

s underp

i

nned by the s

i

m

i

lar log

i

c of “fem

i

n

i

zat

i

on

of migration,” migration under EPA differs sharpl

y

from the other waves of immigrants in three distinct

ways: 1) the

i

nvolvement of the state

i

nst

i

tut

i

ons; 2) sk

i

lls of the care workers; and 3) the s

i

tes of the

work. To understand the process of incorporation of Japan as part of the

g

lobalization of care throu

g

h

the EPAs, this section examines how the mi

g

ration of care workers and the state’s response to rapid

demographic change is occurring in Japan. It illustrates the complex interpla

y

between the crisis of

care and its convergence with the global capital institution, which consequentl

y

defined the condition

of m

i

grant care workers as well as the s

i

tes of care.

1

.EP

A

as a State-sponsored Migration Project

The intensification of

g

lobalization processes evoked various attempts to coordinate efforts for free

trade at the re

gi

onal level and or

g

an

i

zat

i

ons such as North

A

mer

i

can Free Trade

Ag

reement (N

A

FT

A

),

Mercosur (Common Southern Market), and ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) started to emer

g

e in the

1990s. Although market econom

y

and trade liberalization lies at the heart of Japan’s post-war eco-

nomic polic

y

, Japan has been rather slow in responding to the regional cooperative initiatives. The

J

apanese government maintains its position to resolve trade issues mainl

y

through multilateral trade

negot

i

at

i

ons of WTO unt

i

l the progress of the Doha Development Round slowed due to the pol

i

t

i

cal

situations in member countries and the confrontations between developed and developin

g

countries.

In the meant

i

me, the b

i

lateral or mult

i

lateral agreements of the Econom

i

c Partnersh

i

p

A

greement

(EPA) and Free Trade A

g

reement (FTA) emer

g

ed as a “complement” [Japan, Gaimu-sho 2002] or

pol

i

cy react

i

on to WTO

i

n order to enhance trade, expand

i

ts market and pursue d

i

plomat

i

c goals.

A

s

of Ma

y

2011, WTO lists 489 regional trade agreements and it became apparent that multiple networks

of EPA/FTAs have quickl

y

proliferated throughout the world [WTO n/a]. The disadvantage of not es-

tablishin

g

EPA/FTA became exposed when the export share from Japan to Mexico declined from 6.0

%

575

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

i

n 1993 to 3.

7

%

i

n 2000 follow

i

n

g

the establ

i

shment of N

A

FT

A

[Watanabe 2007; Japan, Ga

i

mu-sho 2002]

.

The shift in economic polic

y

has been further accelerated b

y

the internal condition of the change

in demographic structure. The low fertilit

y

rate and dramatic increase in an aging population began to

hinder the development of the econom

y

. The working population started to decrease in 1996 and de

-

population of the nation registered since 2005 [Japan, Kokuritsu Shakaihosho Jinko Mondai Kenk

y

u

j

o

2002]. Ma

j

or structural reform and deregulat

i

on took place

i

n the late 1990s

i

n an effort to

i

ncrease

productivit

y

and efficienc

y

in order to respond to the global econom

y

but the growth remained limited.

One remedy offered to rev

i

tal

i

ze the shr

i

nk

i

ng economy

i

n the depopulat

i

ng nat

i

on was to pursue further

liberalization and increase the transnational flow of

g

oods, services, capital and people to take advanta

g

e

of the rap

i

d econom

i

c development of the

A

s

i

an re

gi

on.

Japan’s first EPA negotiation was with Singapore in 1999, a countr

y

, which did not have an

y

conflict

of interest over a

g

ricultural products, and was established in 2002. It was expected that the EPA with

Sin

g

apore would stren

g

then the relationship between Japan and ASEAN and would become the basis

for East Asian economic co-operation [Tanaka 2000; Japan, Gaimu-sho 2002].

The EP

A

negot

i

at

i

ons between Japan and the Ph

i

l

i

pp

i

nes started

i

n 2003, were drafted

i

n 2006 and

ratified in 2008. Durin

g

the ne

g

otiations with Japan, the Philippines proposed that Japan accept domes

-

t

i

c helpers, nann

i

es, nurses, and care workers [

A

sato 2007: 33]. However, Japan’s

i

mm

i

grat

i

on pol

i

cy

permits the entr

y

of “skilled” workers but not “unskilled” 9) so onl

y

the nurses and certified care work

-

ers

(

kaigo fukushishi

((

)

qual

i

f

i

ed. Whether care workers should be re

g

arded “sk

i

lled” rema

i

ns contested

but lobb

y

ing b

y

certain stakeholders kept the care workers on the list

.

10) Finall

y

, considering the over

-

all economic benefit of establishing the EPA, the entr

y

of foreign care workers was accepted as a

“compromise” or “political decision” in order not to

j

eopardize the agreement [Iguchi 2005; Asato 2007].

The article for mi

g

ration of nurses and care workers is derived from WTO’s General A

g

reement

on Trade

i

n Serv

i

ces (G

A

TS) Mode 4, wh

i

ch became a separate art

i

cle of Movement of Natural Persons

(MNP) under the EPA. In

g

eneral, provisions on MNP include business travel, intra-corporate trans

-

ferees and

i

nvestors but cons

i

der

i

ng the cr

i

s

i

s of care

i

n Japan, nurses and care workers were accepted

for the first time as a new item in the Ja

p

an-Phili

pp

ine EPA and included in the Ja

p

an-Indonesia EPA

.

The Japan-Ph

i

l

i

pp

i

ne EP

A

was s

i

gned

i

n 2006, however, the rat

i

f

i

cat

i

on was delayed unt

i

l October

2008

,

11

)

so Indonesia recruited the first batch of migrant workers in Ma

y

2008. Unlike the Philippines,

which had established a certified care-worker course in the 1990s, the first care-worker applicants from

Indonesia were recruited from nursin

g

-school

g

raduates since Indonesia did not have a certified care

-

9

) However, Japan does accept de facto unskilled labors legall

y

.

10) Interview with officials of the Ministr

y

of Health, Labour and Welfare, Aug. 5 and 25, 2011, and to the Ministr

y

o

f Foreign Affairs, Jul

y

3, 2011. In the working group to accept highl

y

-skilled migrants under the Chief Cabinet

Secretar

y

, the care workers are classified as “unskilled” [Japan, Kodo Jinzai Ukeire Suishin Kaigi Jitsumu Sag

y

o

B

ukai 2009

]

.

11) According to Article VII, Section 21 of the Philippine Constitution, all treaty and international agreement has

t

o be approved by a two-th

i

rds vote of the Senate. The controversy over the export of hazardous waste to the

P

h

i

l

i

pp

i

nes tr

i

ggered strong oppos

i

t

i

on by the c

i

v

i

l soc

i

ety both

i

n the Ph

i

l

i

pp

i

nes and Japan and delayed the

rat

i

f

i

cat

i

on process. For the d

i

scuss

i

on

i

n the Japanese D

i

et

i

n Jul

y

2007, v

i

ew the quest

i

ons ra

i

sed b

y

Nobuto

H

osaka at www.shugiin.go.jp/itdb

_

shitsumon.nsf/html/shitsumon/166453.htm, retrieved Aug. 19, 2011.

東南

アジア研究

49

巻

4

号

57

6

wor

k

er system

.

12

)

A

ppl

i

cants w

i

th more than two years of cl

i

n

i

cal exper

i

ence appl

i

ed as nurses and

those with less than two

y

ears of experience applied as care workers

.

In Au

g

ust 2008, the first batch of Indonesian care workers arrived in Japan and after completin

g

six months of language training, the

y

were placed in hospitals and care facilities and started working as

nurse and care-worker candidates. The cost of mi

g

ration, includin

g

fees for recruitment, matchin

g

,

a

i

rfare and the Japanese language tra

i

n

i

ng, wh

i

ch costs approx

i

mately 3.6 m

i

ll

i

on yen per person,

i

s

shouldered b

y

the Japanese government and the receiving hospitals/care facilities. The state agencies;

namely Japan Internat

i

onal Corporat

i

on of Welfare Serv

i

ces (JICWELS), Nat

i

onal Board for the Place-

ment and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI) and Philippine Overseas Emplo

y

ment

A

dm

i

n

i

strat

i

on (POE

A

) are respons

i

ble for the recru

i

tment, deployment and tra

i

n

i

ng of care workers,

thus in principle, leavin

g

no space for the private a

g

encies to maneuver

.

13) The conditions for emplo

y

-

ment are required to be the same as those of Japanese workers (i.e., nurse candidates are paid a salar

y

e

q

ual to that of Ja

p

anese nurse assistants and the care-worker candidates are

p

aid e

q

uivalent or more

to the home helpers)

1

4

)

in accordance with the emplo

y

ment polic

y

of the receiving institutions.15) Also

,

they are ent

i

tled to the same benef

i

ts as Japanese staff and are protected under the standard labor

l

aw

.16

)

Unlike other migrants, the state strictl

y

controls and supervises the process shouldering a heav

y

f

i

nanc

i

al cost, wh

i

ch conf

i

rms that the purpose of

i

ntroduc

i

ng m

i

grant care workers

i

s not to recru

i

t

chea

p

labor.

A

pparently, th

i

s exper

i

ment goes aga

i

nst the “

i

nformal

i

zat

i

on” processes

i

n the labor market where

the deregulated low-cost

j

obs are being relegated to immigrants and women in global cities [Sassen 2002].

Then how does the state calculate the cost of mi

g

ration if the workers are neither flexible nor cheap?

The migration of care workers under EPA emerged as a result of negotiations not onl

y

between

the

g

overnments of Japan and Southeast Asia but also amon

g

several ministries within Japan. It was

formulated as a comprom

i

se of d

i

fferent

i

nterests among the local stakeholders

i

nclud

i

ng the M

i

n

i

stry

of Foreign Affairs, the Ministr

y

of Econom

y

Trade and Industries, the Ministr

y

of Finance, and the

M

i

n

i

stry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). The

i

r f

i

rst pr

i

or

i

ty, to max

i

m

i

ze the econom

i

c oppor-

tunit

y

for the benefit of the nation, is considered an important state mandate that gives legitimac

y

to

pursu

i

ng the free trade agreement. Second

i

n

i

mportance, although the

i

mm

i

grat

i

on pol

i

cy reform

12) Respond

i

ng to the EP

A

, the Indones

i

an government establ

i

shed a cert

i

f

i

ed tra

i

n

i

ng course for care workers

i

n

2

009 but

i

t was soon abol

i

shed because many graduates d

i

d not match w

i

th the Japanese care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es. Interv

i

ew

w

i

th government off

i

c

i

als of Indones

i

a

i

n Jul

y

2010 and

A

ugust 2011.

13) Various educational institutions in Indonesia and the Philippines started to provide lan

g

ua

g

e trainin

g

to increase

t

he chances of matching, but the government institutions hold the sole responsibilit

y

in matching

.

14) Home helper is a certificate obtained after completing a training course of 130–230 hours accredited b

y

the

l

oca

l

g

overnment.

15) For the first batch of Indonesian careworker candidates, the average salar

y

is 161,000

y

en. The highest salar

y

i

s 197,550 yen and the lowest is 120,000 yen [Satomi 2010].

16) However

,

there was a case of contract v

i

olat

i

on

i

n 2011 where an Indones

i

an nurse cand

i

date made a cla

i

m to

t

he Labor Standards Inspect

i

on Off

i

ce. The d

i

spute was settled w

i

th an apology from the hosp

i

tal and payment

of 400,000 yen as compensation [

Asahi Shimbun

[

,

Jul

y

28, 2011; N

i

sh

i

n

ipp

on Sh

i

mbu

n

,

Jul

y

28, 2011; Ma

i

n

i

ch

i

S

himbun

,

Jul

y

28, 2011]

.

577

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

under the

i

mplod

i

n

g

populat

i

on has become a pol

i

t

i

cal a

g

enda

,

17

)

the consensus-bu

i

ld

i

n

g

process has

sta

g

nated due to the precarious political climate and lack of leadership. Third, the crisis of care both in

terms of human and financial resources will continue for the foreseeable future. MHLW estimates there

are 200,000 care workers who are

q

ualified but are not in the labor market and Ja

p

an will need 400,000

–

600,000 care workers b

y

2014 [Japan, Kosei Rodo-sho 2009]. This exposes the realit

y

that because of

poor work

i

ng cond

i

t

i

ons, the turnover rat

i

o of the care workers

i

s 22.

6

%

, cons

i

derably h

i

gher than

1

7

.5

%

for the average workers and the long-term care institutions are continuall

y

facing a shortage of

care wor

k

ers

[

Yom

i

ur

i

Sh

i

mbun

,

March 6, 2007]. However, cons

i

der

i

ng the domest

i

c labor market,

MHLW maintains the firm position that the entr

y

of migrant care workers under EPA is an “excep

-

t

i

onal case” [Japan, Kose

i

Rodo-sho 2011]

.

The primar

y

aim of EPA is to gain an overall economic benefit through promoting free trade with

Southeast Asia, which ma

y

also la

y

the groundwork for future regional integration in Asia. More im

-

portantl

y

, Japan’s acceptance of care workers under EPA serves as an excuse that Japan is accepting

the care workers in exchange for selling goods to Southeast Asian markets especiall

y

when there is a

lack of consensus

i

n the soc

i

ety toward acceptance of

i

mm

i

grants. Even though MHLW cla

i

ms that

EPA was not intended to ameliorate the shortage of labor, it is the ma

j

or care-crisis in Japanese societ

y

that created an env

i

ronment that allowed the m

i

grat

i

on of care workers to be accepted.

The migration of care workers under the EPA can be h

y

pothesized as the creative response of the

state toward the challenges of global

i

zat

i

on that, on the one hand, are be

i

ng caught by l

i

beral log

i

c to

promote free trade and, on the other hand, are protecting the interest of its nations b

y

imposing certain

conditions which I will discuss in the next section. In short, the mi

g

ration of care workers under EPA

serves as a litmus test for the state and societ

y

that can lead to the formation of the future immigration

polic

y

as one of the options to cope with the crises of care and depopulation

.

2

.Skills of Forei

g

n Care Workers

The entry of fore

i

gn care workers generated a publ

i

c debate

i

n Japan and the strongest oppos

i

t

i

on came

from the professional

g

roups. MHLW as well as the Japanese Nursin

g

Association (JNA) were

g

uarded

about the entry of m

i

grant care workers because of the potent

i

al effects on the domest

i

c labor market,

includin

g

deterioration of the workin

g

conditions and the underminin

g

of the professionalism of Japanese

nurses. During the negotiations, JNA made a counterproposal, which largel

y

defined the framework of

the mi

g

ration of care workers under EPA [see Shun Ohno’s paper in this issue]. Based on its recom

-

mendations, EPA included a condition that the forei

g

n care workers pass the national licensure exam

w

i

th

i

n a l

i

m

i

ted per

i

od of t

i

me and

i

f they fa

i

l, they cannot rema

i

n

i

n Japan any longer

.

This framework opens an opportunit

y

for foreign care workers to be incorporated into the Japanese

care labor market at the same level as the Japanese but the educat

i

onal

i

nvestment needed for them to

17) For example, June 2008, the L

i

beral Democrat

i

c Party (LDP) led by former Secretary General H

i

denao Nakagawa

subm

i

tted a new

i

mm

i

grat

i

on plan to accept 10 m

i

ll

i

on

i

mm

i

grants dur

i

ng the next 50 years to then Pr

i

me

Mi

n

i

ster Yasuo Fukuda. See also the d

i

scuss

i

on paper of the work

i

ng group to accept h

i

ghl

y

-sk

i

lled m

i

grants

u

nder the Chief Cabinet Secretar

y

[Japan, Kodo Jinzai Ukeire Suishin Kaigi Jitsumu Sag

y

o Bukai 2009]

.

東南

アジア研究

49

巻

4

号

578

pass the exam has proven costl

y

for both the state and the accept

i

ng fac

i

l

i

t

i

es.

A

lso, the m

i

grants need

to stud

y

ver

y

hard while working, and until the

y

pass the exam, the

y

are treated as candidates

.

3

.Site o

f

Care Work

Since the foreign care workers are mandated to pass the national exam within four

y

ears, their work-

places double as tra

i

n

i

ng

i

nst

i

tut

i

ons and must comply w

i

th certa

i

n standards. F

i

rst, the care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es

must have more than 30 beds with a professional staff capable of providin

g

trainin

g

. Second, the staff

rat

i

o has to comply w

i

th government regulat

i

ons. Th

i

rd, more than 40

%

of the full-t

i

me care workers

h

ave to have the

c

ertified

c

are worker or national

k

ai

g

o fukushishi license. In summar

y

, the migrant

care workers are only allowed to work

i

n h

i

ghly regulated

i

nst

i

tut

i

ons, not

i

n pr

i

vate homes. Th

i

s

i

s

i

n

stark difference from the

p

lacement of domestic hel

p

ers and care workers in other countries. The

foreign care workers alwa

y

s work as part of the team with Japanese co-workers in care facilities and in

principle, are allowed time to stud

y

Japanese and prepare for the national exam often with either a

v

olunteer or professional teacher. Compared to the earlier mi

g

rants who arrived in much lar

g

er num-

b

ers

,

1

8

)

publ

i

c awareness of the EP

A

m

i

grant care workers

i

s extremely h

i

gh

.

19

)

The response

i

s largely

s

y

mpathetic making this migration pro

j

ect highl

y

visible.

III

A

ssessment of Indonesian Care Workers Assi

g

ned to Care Facilitie

s

The K

y

ushu Universit

y

Research Team

2

0

)

undertook a quantitative surve

y

of 53 long-term care facilities

that accepted the first batch of Indonesian candidates. The

y

queried the facilities’ staff about the reasons

for emplo

y

ing the candidates, assessment of the Indonesian care workers and their opinions of the EPA

program. The surve

y

was conducted in mid-Januar

y

2010, approximatel

y

one

y

ear after the candidates

were ass

i

gned to care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es. The quest

i

onna

i

re was d

i

str

i

buted to care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es and 19 were re-

turned, a res

p

onse rate of 35

%

. The low response rate makes it necessar

y

to evaluate the responses

carefully by compar

i

ng and supplement

i

ng them w

i

th the survey data from other

i

nst

i

tut

i

ons such as

18) The 1989 Imm

i

grat

i

on Control Law allows pr

i

v

i

leged res

i

dent

i

al status to overseas N

i

kke

i

(descendants of

o

verseas Japanese mi

g

rants) and forei

g

n trainees to fill the shorta

g

e of labor in manufacturin

g

,

g

arment, food

processin

g

and a

g

riculture. In 2010, MHLW states that amon

g

the 562,818 forei

g

n workers in Japan, 122,871

came from Braz

i

l and Peru [Japan, Kose

i

Rodo-sho 2010a] but th

i

s excludes those who are under the spousal

v

isa so the actual numbers are hi

g

her. The total number of trainees is also difficult to estimate. In 2009, the

entr

y

of “trainee” visa holders was 80,480 including government trainees [Japan, Ministr

y

of Justice 2010]. In

t

he same year, 50,064 tra

i

nees,

i

nclud

i

ng 954 reported cases of m

i

ss

i

ng workers, were work

i

ng nat

i

on-w

i

de

u

nder the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization (JITCO), the ma

j

or bod

y

coordinating the

t

rainee s

y

stem [Japan International Training Cooperation Organization 2011]

.

19)

A

ccord

i

ng to the

A

ssoc

i

at

i

on for Overseas Techn

i

cal Scholarsh

i

p (

A

OTS), the

i

nst

i

tut

i

on wh

i

ch conducted the

J

apanese lan

g

ua

g

e trainin

g

, more than 240 mass media and other institutions requested interviews in the first six

mont

h

s [Haru

h

ara 2009

]

.

2

0) The quant

i

tat

i

ve research was conducted under “

A

Global Soc

i

olog

i

cal Study on Japan’s Open

i

ng of Its Labor

M

arket in the Field of Care and Nursin

g

” (Representative: Shun Ohno) and the collaborative team members

i

nclude: Shun Ohno, Yuko Hirano, Yoshichika Kawaguchi, Ki

y

oshi Adachi, Takeo Ogawa and Reiko Ogawa.

Th

i

s has been funded by Kyushu Un

i

vers

i

ty Interd

i

sc

i

pl

i

nary Programs

i

n Educat

i

on and Pro

j

ects

i

n Research

D

evelo

p

ment.

5

7

9

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

MHLW and triangulate the surve

y

data with interviews at care facilities. The respondents were pri

-

maril

y

the executive managers or directors of the care facilities. Fig. 1 summarizes the reasons for

acceptin

g

the forei

g

n care workers

.

Fi

g

. 1 demonstrates that amon

g

the reasons for acceptin

g

the forei

g

n care workers “To revitalize

the workplace” and “To prepare for future ‘

i

nternat

i

onal

i

zat

i

on’ of the workplace” stand out. It also

shows that “To resolve the shorta

g

e of care workforce” was least important of the options. This is due

to the fact that the care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es el

i

g

i

ble to accept the cand

i

dates have to comply w

i

th certa

i

n gu

i

del

i

nes

and expected to provide continuous training to the candidates so that the

y

will pass the exam. Also, in

add

i

t

i

on to the monthly salary equ

i

valent to that of Japanese staff, the care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es have to spend

approximatel

y

600,000

y

en as the initial cost of the commission and training fees for the candidates.

Considering the high cost and rigorous requirements, it can be said that onl

y

the resourceful care

facilities are eligible to appl

y

and not the ones who are in need of “cheap labor.

”

Similar results are evident in the surve

y

conducted b

y

Japan’s Kosei Rodo-sho (MHLW) [2010b]

w

i

th the same sample a week later.

2

1

)

Stat

i

st

i

cs from that survey

i

dent

i

f

i

ed the reason for acceptance

“as an experiment for future emplo

y

ment of foreigners” (89.

2

%

)

,

“to contribute to international ex

-

change and co-operat

i

on” (81.

1

%

), “to rev

i

tal

i

ze the workplace” (78.4

%

)

, and

“

to resolve the shortage

of labor”

(

48.6

%

)

.

21) The quest

i

onna

i

re was d

i

str

i

buted to 53 care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es from Jan. 28 to Feb. 17, 2010. Responses were obta

i

ned

from 528 persons

i

nclud

i

ng d

i

rectors, superv

i

sors, co-workers, elderl

y

, fam

i

l

i

es of the elderl

y

, and cand

i

dates

from 39 care facilities.

Fig

. 1 Mot

i

ves for

A

ccept

i

ng Indones

i

an Cert

i

f

i

ed Care-Worker Cand

i

dates

東南

アジア研究

49

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4

号

5

8

0

In the author’s

i

nterv

i

ews w

i

th e

i

ght care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es

i

n Japan, many echoed th

i

s v

i

ew.

A

nt

i

c

i

pat

i

ng

that the

y

ma

y

need to emplo

y

migrant care workers in the near future, the

y

wanted to prepare while

the

y

still have enough resources. Since the government initiated this migrator

y

scheme, man

y

care

facilities assumed qualit

y

of the care workers was guaranteed. Three facilities even pointed out their

expectation that the candidates would become leaders in the workplace, mana

g

in

g

the forei

g

n staff

when the necess

i

ty to employ more fore

i

gn workers became a real

i

ty. In sum, the data

i

nd

i

cates that

the care facilities that emplo

y

ed the first batch of Indonesians are resourceful and have a vision in

employ

i

ng fore

i

gn staff

i

n the future and not

i

n need to seek for cheap labor

.

A

ccordin

g

to Fi

g

. 2, despite concerns over lan

g

ua

g

e and cultural differences expressed prior to the

acceptance of fore

ig

n workers, once the Indones

i

an cand

i

dates were placed

i

n care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es, 89.

5

%

re

p

lied “A

pp

licable” or “Somewhat a

pp

licable” that the “Work

p

lace became revitalized.” Also, 78.9

%

replied “Applicable” or “Somewhat applicable” that Indonesian care workers “Motivated Japanese staff

to understand different cultures.” Moreover, more than half replied the “Elderl

y

became more livel

y

.”

When interviewed, an elderl

y

woman in her 80s who sta

y

s in the care facilit

y

in Western Japan

sa

i

d: “They (two Indones

i

ans) are very k

i

nd and gentle. I th

i

nk

i

t must be hard for them to travel such

a long wa

y

to work here, but the

y

are working ver

y

hard. All of us count on them because the

y

alwa

y

s

come runn

i

ng whenever we call them.

”

2

)

Man

y

other interviews with Japanese co-workers and supervisors in the care facilities confirm this

v

i

ew. Indones

i

ans (and F

i

l

i

p

i

nos) are popular

i

n sp

i

te of the

i

r lan

g

ua

g

e def

i

c

i

enc

i

es. The presence of

forei

g

n care workers tri

gg

ered Japanese staff to rethink and reflect on the purpose of care work because

2

2) Interviewed on A

p

ril 17, 2009.

F

i

g

.

2

P

ositive Chan

g

es in the Workplace after Acceptin

g

Indonesian Candidates

5

8

1

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

they had to expla

i

n the reasons beh

i

nd one’s behav

i

or

i

n s

i

mple words.

A

ll the care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es

i

nterv

i

ewed

reported that communication in the workplace has improved because havin

g

co-workers not fluent in

Japanese among the staff forced them to conve

y

messages clearl

y

and confirm that ever

y

one under

-

stands and shares the same information. Japanese staff are takin

g

extra effort to support the candidates

and as a consequence the capacit

y

to work as a team has improved.

A

Japanese care worker, respons

i

ble for tra

i

n

i

ng cand

i

dates, narrates: “There are no compla

i

nts

against the candidates. The

y

are well received and liked. The

y

are welcomed especiall

y

b

y

the elderl

y

as they are pleased to have a cheerful person

i

n the

i

r bor

i

ng da

i

ly l

i

ves. They (cand

i

dates) look

i

nto

their e

y

es when the

y

talk with the elderl

y

and provide support in a natural manner. So the facilit

y

became l

i

vely. We can count on the care they prov

i

de.

”

23

)

Candidates are welcomed warml

y

b

y

the supportive Japanese staff and are contributing to the

qualit

y

of care in multiple wa

y

s. In some cases, Japanese care workers were reluctant to accept the

foreigners because the

y

feared that the foreign care workers would not be able to communicate well,

which would increase their burden. However, in the places the author interviewed, once the candidates

had arr

i

ved, the Japanese staff members,

i

mpressed by the cand

i

dates’ sk

i

ll levels and warm person

-

alities, became helpful in tr

y

ing to teach them ever

y

thing the

y

needed to know. In turn, the candidates

are work

i

ng hard to learn both language and work sk

i

lls.

A

s a consequence, the fore

i

gn care workers

have con tributed to the revitalization and internationalization of the work

p

lace as intended

.

Before accept

i

n

g

the cand

i

dates, the care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es art

i

culated a d

i

fferent concern. Some worr

i

ed

about racial discrimination b

y

Japanese toward other Asians. However, once the candidates started

working, the relationship between Japanese elderl

y

and the candidates proved smooth and com forting

.

The director of a care facilit

y

said: “I was worried in the beginning because the elderl

y

of this

generation carr

y

the memories of war, and (man

y

) Japanese harbor racial pre

j

udice (against Asians).

But there was no ob

j

ect

i

on among the elderly (to have Indones

i

an care workers). There

i

s no d

i

fference

in nationalit

y

insofar as the

y

have a caring heart.”

2

4)

The memor

i

es of war may already have become a d

i

stant past for those l

i

v

i

ng a peaceful l

i

fe

i

n care

facilities. Their da

y

-to-da

y

concerns center around who will help them in time of need. For that reason,

the cand

i

dates are popular desp

i

te any language def

i

c

i

ency

.

While this qualitative data points to the trust developed between the care receiver and mi

g

rant

care worker, the MHLW surve

y

also supports this data. Among the elderl

y

, 12.

6

%

respon

d

e

d

t

h

at t

h

e

candidates are providin

g

better service than Japanese staff, 59.

2

%

j

udged their service satisfactor

y

, and

3

1.1

%

rank it average. None of the elderl

y

selected the “unsatisfactor

y

” option in describing the

cand

i

dates’ serv

i

ce [Japan, Kose

i

Rodo-sho 2010b].

However, Fig. 3 illustrates the negative effects of acceptance. Nearl

y

9

0

%

of the res

p

ondents in

our research felt that the “F

i

nanc

i

al burden

i

ncreased” or somewhat

i

ncreased and 10

0

%

o

f

the respond

-

ents re

p

lied that the “Workload of su

p

ervisor/educator increased.” The EPA sti

p

ulates that the care

fac

i

l

i

t

i

es must educate the cand

i

dates so that they can pass the nat

i

onal exam

i

n Japanese.

A

pparently,

23) Interv

i

ewed on Se

p

t. 17, 2010

.

24) Interviewed on A

p

ril 30, 2009.

東南

アジア研究

49

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号

5

8

2

an

i

ncreas

i

n

g

load on f

i

nanc

i

al and human resources to support the m

ig

rant care workers has been a

b

urden for the care facilities.

In the interviews, all the facilities targeted the problem of not knowing the most efficient wa

y

to

support the candidates. Care facilities are not educational institutions, so teachin

g

the Japanese lan

g

ua

g

e

to forei

g

n staff is not part of their expertise. A number of educational materials have been developed

to teac

h

Japanese to t

h

e care wor

k

ers

b

ut Japanese care wor

k

ers are not

l

anguage teac

h

ers an

d

t

h

e

J

apanese language teachers are not familiar with the caregiving vocabular

y

so neither group has the

pedagog

i

cal sk

i

lls to teach cand

i

dates well enough to pass the nat

i

onal exam. In add

i

t

i

on, many care

facilities are located in remote areas, which makes it difficult to access resources such as Ja

p

anese

lan

g

ua

g

e or care

gi

v

i

n

g

schools that are concentrated

i

n lar

g

e c

i

t

i

es. Therefore, when quest

i

oned about

what kind of stud

y

support the

y

are providing for the candidates, all the care facilities repeatedl

y

re-

ported “We are tr

y

ing to do our best through trial and error,” impl

y

ing a lack of s

y

stematic support from

the

g

overnment.

Fi

g

. 3 indicates that 68.

4

%

replied that reli

g

ion was also a concern since it is almost the first time

that Japanese care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es employed any Musl

i

m staff members. W

i

th l

i

ttle knowledge of Islam, the care

facilities prepared a pra

y

ing room available to Indonesians during the da

y

, respected religious practices

suc

h

as

h

a

l

a

l

food and fasting, and some facilities allowed the women’s veil in workplace. The religious

l

differences did not become a ma

j

or issue due to the flexibilit

y

on both sides [Alam and Wulansari 2010]

.

A

s

i

nd

i

cated

i

n the

i

nterv

i

ew above, F

ig

. 3 also attests that desp

i

te the weakness of the cand

i

dates’

J

apanese lan

g

ua

g

e skills, none of the care facilities “Need to resolve the problems with (the candidates

and) the elderl

y

.” In our interviews, minor tensions with Japanese staff surfaced but no ma

j

or trouble

has been identified between the candidates and the elderl

y

.

F

i

g. 3

N

egat

i

ve Changes

i

n the Workplace after

A

ccept

i

ng Indones

i

an Cand

i

date

s

5

8

3

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

F

i

g. 4 shows the cand

i

dates’ language prof

i

c

i

ency at workplace.

A

fter s

i

x months of language

training and one

y

ear of work experience, more than 7

0

%

of the facili ties re

p

lied that the candidates

communicate fairl

y

well with the co-workers and the elderl

y

.

Japan’s Kosei Rodo-sho [2010b] surve

y

on the first batch of Indonesian candidates for certified care

worker indicates a hi

g

her result: 35.1

%

of the directors of the care facilities

,

23.

7

%

of the supervisors,

1

9.2

%

o

f

the co-workers, and 62.1

%

of the elderly repl

i

ed, “There

i

s no problem

i

n the commun

i

cat

i

on”;

59

.

5

%

of the directors

,

73.

7

%

of the su

p

ervisors, 72.5

%

of the co-workers

,

and 34.0

%

of the elderl

y

responded, “Somet

i

mes they don’t understand but

i

f we speak slowly

i

t can be understood.” Therefore,

9

0

–9

5

%

of the Japanese workin

g

with the candidates reported that Indonesians have acquired a level

of commun

i

cat

i

on wh

i

ch can be understood.

However, the level of communication required for professional work is extremel

y

high and the

language achievements of the Indonesian care workers do not seem to be satisfactor

y

. The same report

su

gg

ests that a lack of lan

g

ua

g

e skills has resulted in problems at the workplace. As such 32.

4

%

o

f

t

he

directors

,

5

0

%

of the supervisors, and 24.6

%

of the co-workers responded that the

y

experienced prob

-

lems because of commun

i

cat

i

on d

i

ff

i

cult

i

es. Spec

i

f

i

c obstacles

i

nclude: “

A

lthough they do not under

-

stand, the

y

sa

y

‘

y

es,’” “The

y

did not understand the order and could not keep the time,” “The

y

did not

understand what the elderly was say

i

ng,” “They could not understand the

i

nformat

i

on at the staff

meeting,” “The

y

forgot to give medicine,” and “Minor accident.” The space for care has to ensure a

safe env

i

ronment and to

g

uarantee that care workers must be equ

i

pped w

i

th the profess

i

onal sk

i

lls

includin

g

lan

g

ua

g

e essential for clear and smooth communication

.

Fig. 5 illustrates care facilities’ assessment of works performed b

y

Indonesian care workers in the

author’s team surve

y

. If we combine “Applicable” and “Somewhat applicable” as responses, “Have

Fig.

4

L

evel of Japanese Lan

g

ua

g

e at Workplac

e

東南

アジア研究

49

巻

4

号

5

8

4

respect toward the elderl

y

” rates 100

%

and “Good at building relationship with the elderl

y

” ranks close

to

1

0

%

.

In the interview, a care facilit

y

pointed out that although the candidates lack the language skills,

the

y

have brought the most important thing for care with them, which is the heart. In all eight care

facilities, the candidates are described as “gentle,” “polite,” “warm” and popular among the elderl

y

.

Care work involves two dimensions: caring for (ph

y

sical care) and caring about (ps

y

chological care),

i

nvolv

i

ng the development of relat

i

onsh

i

ps between the careg

i

ver and care rece

i

ver [H

i

mmelwe

i

t 2007;

Glenn 2000]. The favorable response toward the migrant care workers attests that the host societ

y

b

enef

i

ts not

j

ust from the

i

r phys

i

cal labor but also from the

i

r “emot

i

onal labor” [Hochsch

i

ld 1983].

In Japan’s Kosei Rodo-sho [2010b] surve

y

, onl

y

0.9

%

of the elderl

y

and none of the famil

y

members

responded that “The tens

i

on of the fac

i

l

i

ty

i

ncreased because the Japanese staff

i

n charge of educat

i

on

b

ecame burdened (to teach the Indonesian candidate).” Rather

,

45.

4

%

of the elderl

y

and 56.2

%

o

f

t

he

famil

y

members said that “compared to before, the atmosphere of the facilit

y

became cheerful because

the candidates are livel

y

and cheerful.

”

The author’s team surve

y

that researched the overall assessment of the Indonesian candidates

asked the quest

i

on: “

A

re you sat

i

sf

i

ed w

i

th the Indones

i

an care workers you accepted?”

A

s such 33.

3

%

re

p

lied “Satisfied” and 44.

4

%

replied “Somewhat satisfied.” In total, nearl

y

80

%

of the

c

are fa

c

ilitie

s

are sat

i

sf

i

ed w

i

th the cand

i

dates. The care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es wh

i

ch pra

i

sed the Indones

i

an cand

i

dates are l

i

kely

to accept Indonesian nurses and care workers whether or not the

y

have a shortage in Japanese workers

[

Og

awa et a

l.

2010

].

Fi

g

. 6 reflects the opinions of the care facilities toward the on

g

oin

g

acceptance of forei

g

n care

workers under EPA. Nearl

y

9

0

%

responded that the “Forei

g

n care workers should be counted in the

staff ratio.” If the forei

g

n care workers cannot be counted in the staff ratio, the financial burden of the

Fig. 5

A

ssessment of the Indonesian

C

andidate

s

5

8

5

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es w

i

ll

i

ncrease because the

i

r salar

i

es could not be covered by the LTCI.

A

t the same t

i

me,

it also hinders the candidates to become full-fledged care workers until the

y

pass the exam. Several

care facilities complained that the candidates are not allowed to work night shifts because the

y

are not

counted in the staff ratio regulated b

y

the government. Considering the possibilit

y

of accidents occur

-

ring because of the language deficienc

y

, it ma

y

be wise not to assign candidates during night shifts where

the respons

i

b

i

l

i

ty to oversee the numbers of elderly

i

ncreases.

A

lso,

i

t g

i

ves the cand

i

dates more

regular working hours so that the

y

can concentrate on their studies. But on the other hand, some

po

i

nted out that

i

f they want to become a full-fledged care worker,

i

t

i

s

i

mportant to work the n

i

ght sh

i

ft.

If the caregiver onl

y

interfaces with the person during the da

y

, he or she cannot comprehend the holis

-

t

i

c s

i

tuat

i

on of the care rece

i

ver, thus affect

i

ng the overall qual

i

ty of care. Others expressed the more

practical reason that a care worker earns more b

y

working the night shift because of the additional

pa

y

men

t

.

Regarding the lack of necessit

y

in acquiring the national certificate within four

y

ears and extending

permission for candidates to continue workin

g

without the certificate, 84.

2

%

of respondents replied

“

A

ppl

i

cable” and “Somewhat appl

i

cable.” Unl

i

ke “nurse,” wh

i

ch

i

s establ

i

shed as a med

i

cal profess

i

on,

in the area of lon

g

-term care, staff from different back

g

rounds are en

g

a

g

ed in the same work whether

they have a cert

i

f

i

cate or not. Often, a fresh un

i

vers

i

ty graduate w

i

th a cert

i

f

i

cate can be less effect

i

ve

than a hi

g

h school

g

raduate without a certificate but with extensive workin

g

experience. The research

result

i

nd

i

cates that w

i

th

i

n th

i

s area of care, cert

i

f

i

cat

i

on

i

s

i

mportant

i

n the lon

g

run but not as an

immediate

p

rere

q

uisite.

Anticipating the future shortage of labor and recognizing the good qualit

y

of foreign care workers,

79

%

of the respondents are supportin

g

the openin

g

up of the care labor market and

g

rantin

g

permanent

Fi

g

. 6 Recommendations Expressed b

y

Care Facilities Emplo

y

ing Indonesian Candidates to EPA

東南

アジア研究

49

巻

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58

6

resident status once the candidates acquire the certificate. Interestingl

y

, onl

y

21.1

%

are in favor of

openin

g

the recruitment to private a

g

encies. This indicates their trust in the state to ensure that the

competence of the candidates is

g

uaranteed.

After two

y

ears, the Indonesian care workers seemed to be well integrated into the care facilities

and the communit

y

.25) The site of care

g

ivin

g

became a new

g

round for “

g

lobal interconnections” [Tsin

g

2000], med

i

ated by

i

nst

i

tut

i

ons, wh

i

ch have been support

i

ve and accommodat

i

ng. Seen from the per-

spective of migrants, the institutional framework of the EPA has drasticall

y

decreased the cost and risk

for m

i

grat

i

on and created a space wh

i

ch

i

s support

i

ve and sens

i

t

i

ve to cultural d

i

fferences.

We are at the historical

j

uncture which will determine whether some of the Indonesian care work-

ers w

i

ll pass the nat

i

onal exam and become full-fled

g

ed care workers equ

i

valent to the Japanese care

workers and become incor

p

orated within the Ja

p

anese care labor marke

t

26) or whether the

y

will rotate

ever

y

four

y

ears much like the circular migration s

y

stem albeit a ver

y

costl

y

one.

IV

T

he EPA Pro

j

ect and Its D

i

lemmas

The nature of the migration of care workers under the EPA requires the combination of work and stud

y

because the cand

i

dates are expected to pass the nat

i

onal exam

i

nat

i

on w

i

th

i

n four years. Th

i

s resonates

with the similar discourse for “trainees” in not officiall

y

admitting them as “workers” under the desig-

nat

i

on of “technolo

gi

cal transfer” but serves as a source of de facto cheap labor. However, th

i

s research

reveals that the efforts to provide support to the forei

g

n care workers and their smooth acceptance has

differed from the previous forms of migration. Man

y

care facilities, if not all, are struggling to provide

appropriate support to the forei

g

n care workers and the Indonesian candidates are brin

g

in

g

a positive

impact to care work. However, this state-sponsored mi

g

ration of care workers is contested at least in

three d

i

fferent aspects.

First, there is a tension between the state and the market. Sassen [1996] ar

g

ues that the

g

lobaliza-

t

i

on br

i

ngs the denat

i

onal

i

zat

i

on of economy and renat

i

onal

i

zat

i

on of pol

i

t

i

cs. Wh

i

le the nat

i

on-state

i

s

increasingl

y

losing its grip over global finance and capitalism, it strives to maintain strict border control

through

i

ts

i

mm

i

grat

i

on pol

i

cy. Dr

i

ven from the global f

i

nanc

i

al

i

nst

i

tut

i

ons of WTO-G

A

TS Mode 4,

J

apan’s EPA manifests the dilemma of the liberal state to promote free trade of

g

oods but at the same

time protect its labor market and maintain the social welfare s

y

stem, which is still largel

y

confined

within the national territor

y

. Moreover, EPA reflects the tension within the state apparatus, such as

that among MHLW, Ministr

y

of Foreign Affairs and Ministr

y

of Econom

y

, Trade and Industr

y

reflecting

the

i

nterest of d

i

fferent stakeholders

i

nclud

i

ng profess

i

onal organ

i

zat

i

ons of health workers and bus

i

ness

associations. The care facilities and the candidates are caught in-between the contradictor

y

movement

of the demand of the market

i

n pursu

i

ng econom

i

c global

i

zat

i

on and the d

i

v

i

ded state response

i

n ma

i

n-

tainin

g

the EPA

.

2

5) S

i

nce some care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es d

i

d not agree to be

i

nterv

i

ewed, the successful cases descr

i

bed here may have certa

i

n

sample b

i

as.

2

6) Regard

i

ng EP

A

m

i

grant nurses, 3 cand

i

dates (2 Indones

i

an and 1 F

i

l

i

p

i

no) passed the nat

i

onal exam for nurs

i

ng

i

n 2010 and 16 (15 Indonesian and 1 Fili

p

ino)

p

assed and became licensed RNs in 2011.

5

8

7

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

Compared to the mi

g

ration of care workers to Taiwan, which is market-dominated [Wan

g

2010],

mi

g

ration under the EPA is state-dominated. Neither looks sustainable in the lon

g

run. The former

raises concern about the protection of the human ri

g

hts of the mi

g

rants; and the latter, althou

g

h re

g

u

-

lated, is too costl

y

for the state to shoulder all the costs of migration. Under the EPA, the initial cost

of emplo

y

ing one foreign care worker is equivalent or even more expensive than the annual salar

y

of a

cert

i

f

i

ed Japanese care worker. Cons

i

der

i

ng the cost and pressure for pr

i

vat

i

zat

i

on, the EP

A

may be

too burdensome to be sustained b

y

the unreasonable combination of the state, which is in huge debt,

and care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es already overstretched by l

i

m

i

ted f

i

nanc

i

al and human resources.

A

s ant

i

c

i

pated, the

initial enthusiasm for the emplo

y

ment of foreign care workers has graduall

y

turned into disappointment

not because of the qual

i

ty of the cand

i

dates but because of the system that

i

s not econom

i

cally v

i

able

.

Knowin

g

the limitation of the state-sponsored mi

g

ration, the private a

g

encies, which used to recruit

Filipino entertainers or Indonesian trainees, are alread

y

at work managing entr

y

from a side door or

back door b

y

using other mechanisms such as N

i

kke

i

or student visas. While the

g

lobal interconnections

developed in Japanese care facilities are accommodatin

g

, it is too naïve to think that this will not con

-

verge w

i

th the more explo

i

tat

i

ve type of global

i

nterconnect

i

ons of brokers. The abundant supply of

prospective mi

g

rants-to-be from Southeast Asia and the vulnerable position of care workers in the host

country [L

i

m and O

i

sh

i

1996] reflect the murky future of the m

i

grat

i

on pro

j

ect of care workers both for

the migrants and the elderl

y

. The question is where to draw an appropriate line to divide the cost, risk

and respons

i

b

i

l

i

ty between the state and the market

i

n order to make th

i

s m

i

grat

i

on pro

j

ect susta

i

n

-

a

b

le

.

Second, there is a question on how we define the work of lon

g

-term care. Compared with the

profession of nurse, where the occupation is defined universall

y

thus allowing mutual accreditation in

certain countries, the skills required in lon

g

-term care

g

ivin

g

is far more ambi

g

uous. In the West, care

work

i

n pr

i

vate households has been an

i

mportant sector of work for newly arr

i

ved

i

mm

i

grants [Yeates

2009; Rivas 2002]. In Hon

g

Kon

g

and Taiwan, the live-in forei

g

n domestic helpers provide care to the

elderly w

i

thout any profess

i

onal tra

i

n

i

ng [Constable 2007; Tsa

i

2008]. Japan

i

ntroduced the cert

i

f

i

ed

care-worker

(

kaigo fukushishi

((

)

s

y

stem in late 1980s, although the exact meaning of skill has not been

clearly def

i

ned.27

)

The author’s team research findin

g

s su

gg

est that if Japan continues to enforce the condition for

the forei

g

n workers to pass the national exam o

f

k

ai

g

o fukushish

i

, and if the chances of passin

g

remains

to be low, the care facilities ma

y

eventuall

y

stop accepting them because of the large financial and human

cost incurred. If that is the case, the facilities that do not provide educational support to the candidates

may benef

i

t most by reta

i

n

i

ng them for four years at the least poss

i

ble expense

.

28

)

In add

i

t

i

on,

i

f only a

2

7

)

The

“

s

hakai

f

ukushishi

(

certified social worker

)

and kai

g

o fukushishi law

”

s

tate

s

that

k

ai

g

o fukushishi i

s

“a

person who provides care based on special knowledge and skills to those who cannot live their dail

y

lives due

t

o physical or mental disability and provide care such as bathing and eating as well as supervise how to provide

care to both the care rece

i

ver and the care prov

i

der.” For more d

i

scuss

i

ons on care work as sk

i

lled work, see

Soeda [2008]

.

2

8) It

i

s up to the cand

i

date whether he or she would l

i

ke to sta

y

unt

i

l the end of the contract per

i

od.

A

s of

A

pr

i

l 2011,

11 Indonesian and 18 Filipino care workers (excluding the schooling course candidates) have alread

y

left Japan.

東南

アジア研究

49

巻

4

号

5

8

few cand

i

dates are able to pass the exam th

i

s m

i

grat

i

on pro

j

ect w

i

ll ne

i

ther rel

i

eve the labor shortage

nor enhance the di

p

lomatic relationshi

p

between Ja

p

an and Southeast Asian countries.

However, if Japan designates care work as “unskilled” it has to change its immigration polic

y

that

does not acce

p

t unskilled laborers

.

29

)

Moreover, the difficult

y

arises in the wa

y

s in which the foreign

care workers are incorporated into the Japanese care s

y

stem. If care work is defined as “unskilled”

w

i

thout any credent

i

als,

i

t may attract a large number of m

i

grants, but they may eventually become

“cheap labor” in the dual labor market. This could also stren

g

then

g

lobal stratification based on

g

ender

and ethn

i

c

i

ty s

i

tuat

i

ng the women from the less-developed countr

i

es at the bottom of the h

i

erarchy.

Third, there is a dilemma in the

g

endered division of labor. Accordin

g

to the author’s team research

re

g

ard

i

n

g

the care worker cand

i

dates who arr

i

ved

i

n 2009, 77

%

of the Indones

i

ans and 88.

8

%

o

f

the

Fili

p

inos are women [Adachi

et

al

.

2010]. When the reproductive work become rele

g

ated to women

from economicall

y

poor countries, the relationship between the global north and global south resembles

the traditional sexual division of labor, the north not being able to do an

y

thing b

y

its own and the south

undertakin

g

the reproductive work [Ehrenreich and Hochschild 2002: 11]. The socialization of care has

sh

i

fted the unpa

i

d work of Japanese women to pa

i

d work purchased

i

n the market, but we need to con-

sider for whom the market has been open and wh

y

. As suggested b

y

the migration s

y

stems theor

y

,

mi

grat

i

on streams do not happen randomly but are connected to pr

i

or l

i

nks developed through colon

i

al-

ism or preexistin

g

cultural and economic ties [Castles and Miller 2009; Sassen 1996; 2007]. Southeast

A

s

i

a has always been under the econom

i

c and pol

i

t

i

cal

i

nterest for postwar Japan

i

nvest

i

ng a large

amount of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in exchan

g

e for natural resources, markets and in

l

ater sta

g

es, c

h

eap

l

a

b

or.

A

lthough the government-sponsored migration of care workers under the EPA ma

y

have a differ-

ent outlook when we situate the pro

g

ram within a historical context, it intersects with the previous

i

mportat

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an women whether

i

n the forms of w

i

ves or enterta

i

ners, wh

i

ch was tac-

itl

y

condoned. The new international division of reproductive labor does not necessaril

y

challenge the

ex

i

st

i

ng gendered d

i

v

i

s

i

on of labor but rather re

i

nforces

i

t by stereotyp

i

ng the Southeast

A

s

i

an women

as “natural care

g

ivers,” “warm-hearted care providers,” and “submissive workers,” echoin

g

the dis-

cource of “n

i

mble f

i

n

g

ers”

i

mposed on

A

s

i

an women

i

n the Export Process

i

n

g

Zones.

Currentl

y

, the Filipina ex-entertainers, who are in their 30s and 40s, are taking the training oper-

ated b

y

private organizations to qualif

y

as care workers b

y

obtaining the home-helper license in differ-

ent

p

arts of Ja

p

an

.

30

)

The shift in occu

p

ation from an entertainer to a care worker re

q

uires a different

construct of the self as the worker has to sell herself to a presumabl

y

different market. The Filipina

care-workers-to-be are taught to appear s

i

mple w

i

thout dyed-ha

i

r, colorful man

i

cures, transparent

clothes, mesh stockings, shin

y

makeup or perfumes and should walk quietl

y.

3

1) Althou

g

h the external

appearance of a care worker may look the complete oppos

i

te of the enterta

i

ner who

i

s expected to be

29) For the discussion on Immi

g

ration Control Law of 1989, see Akashi [2010].

30) The level of home helper ranges from 1–2. Most of the F

i

l

i

p

i

nas are complet

i

ng level 2 by go

i

ng through 130

hours tra

i

n

i

ng. Level 2 allows one to undertake phys

i

cal care and domest

i

c work. For further deta

i

ls on the

res

i

dent F

i

l

ipi

na care workers, see Takahata [2009]

.

31) From the training manual “To Work in a Japanese Care Facilit

y

” used at the home-helper training course.

5

8

9

O

GAWA

R.

A

: Global

i

zat

i

on of Care and the Context of Recept

i

on of Southeast

A

s

i

an Care Workers

i

n Japa

n

sexy and seduct

i

ve,

i

t

i

s underp

i

nned by the same log

i

c of control of a doc

i

le body and the

i

mportat

i

on

of love. In both cases, the women’s bod

y

has been controlled to fit into the role of the “love provider”

to fulfill the desire of the “love receiver,” who needs love and care. “Love,” which has an exchan

g

e

value in both occupations, is constantl

y

negotiated through ph

y

sical contact that makes the worker

vulnerable to sexual harassment in the case of entertainers and

j

ustifies the poor working conditions in

the case o

f

care workers.

Amon

g

the first batch of Filipino care workers under the EPA, some had a nursin

g

back

g

round,

some had worked

i

n Japan as enterta

i

ners and now reentered the country as cert

i

f

i

ed care-worker

candidates. The host societ

y

imposes different categories on migrants but the boundar

y

between the

“nurse,” “care worker,” and “enterta

i

ner” are not as sharply def

i

ned as has been presumed.

A

s Sassen

[2002; 2007] suggests, the individuals ma

y

decide to migrate as a personal decision but the option to

migrate is itself “sociall

y

produced,” and the women are increasingl

y

mobilized into the global “sur

-

vival circuit.” The transnational flow of care workers under EPA is racialised and

g

endered and has a

certain commonalit

y

with the earlier forms of female migration from Southeast Asia. The dilemma

rema

i

ns for the women

i

n the North to dec

i

de whether the global

i

zat

i

on of care

i

s merely reproduc

i

ng

the unequal

g

ender order across the

g

lobe [Ehrenreich and Hochschild 2002: 17].

V

Conclusio

n

The migration of care workers from Southeast Asia to Japan represents different d

y

namics at macro

and micro levels. At the macro level of the state, the migration pro

j

ect did not come out as demand

-

driven in order to ameliorate the local care deficit but rather it came out as suppl

y

-driven through trade

ne

g

otiations. It also stems from a conver

g

ence of different interests in which the state is respondin

g

creat

i

vely to a shr

i

nk

i

ng and ag

i

ng populat

i

on by promot

i

ng further econom

i

c growth through trade

liberalization. As a consequence of ne

g

otiations and compromises, the state has exercised its power to

cond

i

t

i

on m

i

grants to pass the nat

i

onal exam.

Seen from the perspective of

g

lobalization studies, the mi

g

ration of care workers under the EPA

goes aga

i

nst the general trend of

i

nformal

i

zat

i

on of labor, wh

i

ch employs m

i

grant women as cheap and

flexible labor in a less-re

g

ulated private sphere to enable the

g

lobal North to sustain the dual-income

families [Sassen 2002]. Rather this migration has been underpinned b

y

an institutional structure, which

subsequentl

y

made the workforce “formal” and “inflexible.” Theoreticall

y

, the imposition of the national

exam provides a wa

y

for the migrants to be incorporated into the Japanese care labor market but the

cond

i

t

i

ons, wh

i

ch requ

i

re that they pass w

i

th

i

n a spec

i

f

i

ed t

i

me frame,

i

s ne

i

ther feas

i

ble nor econom

i-

call

y

viable. Evaluating the state-sponsored migration pro

j

ect, the cost is too high for the state to

cont

i

nue to shoulder expenses and care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es are overburdened w

i

th preparat

i

ons for the nat

i

onal

ex

a

m

.

A

t the m

i

cro level of the care fac

i

l

i

t

i

es, th

i

s research demonstrates that

i

nst

i

tut

i

onal support and

personal en

g

a

g

ement is indispensable in acceptin

g

and inte

g

ratin

g

mi

g

rant care workers. The care

facilities, which accepted the first batch of Indonesian care workers, were well prepared, sensitive and

supportive to the foreign staff. Consequentl

y

, most of the Indonesian care workers have adapted well

東南

アジア研究

49

巻

4

号

5

9

0

to the

i

r fac

i

l

i

t

i

es,

i

ntegrated

i

nto the local commun

i

ty, and are contr

i

but

i

ng to the qual

i

ty care.

A

lthough

the mi

g

ration of care workers under EPA does not miti

g

ate a care workforce deficit, the

g

lobal intercon-

nection developed at the grass-root level enriches the qualit

y

of care contributing to the revitalization

of the work

p

lace.

Considering the contestations embedded in the EPA one would question the sustainabilit

y

of the

pro

j

ect. What can we learn from the exper

i

ences of the transnat

i

onal m

i

grat

i

on of nurses and care

workers under EPA? How can we turn this experience into an alternative polic

y

suggestion? Japan

has yet to env

i

s

i

on a post-EP

A

strategy but what

i

s clear

i

s that the cross-cultural exper

i

ences and

engagements espoused at care facilities should be ensured so that the migrants can full

y

develop their

capac

i

t

i

es wh

i

ch

i

n turn w

i

ll be benef

i

c

i

al

i

n prov

i

d

i

ng qual

i

ty care. Care

i

s an act of rec

i

proc

i

ty so the

principle of fairness and respect to human ri

g

hts should be the core in the formulation and implementa-

tion of future immigration and social welfare polic

y

. Finall

y

, it is necessar

y

for the state to remain

committed to ensure that the

g

lobalization of care work will create conditions which are acceptable and

respectable for both the elderl

y

and migrants alike

.

A

cknowledgement

s

T

h

i

s research has been supported b

y

the K

y

ushu Un

i

vers

i

t

y

’s fund for educat

i

on and research program and pro

j

ects

(

P&P), “A Global Sociological Stud

y

on Japan’s Opening of Its Labor Market in the Field of Care and Nursing”

(

2007–09) (Representative: Shun OHNO); Bilateral Programs with Universit

y

of Indonesia (JSPS), “International

Stud

y

on Care Services, Lives and Mental Health of Indonesian Care Workers in Japan” (2009–11) (Representative:

Reiko OGAWA), and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) “International Movement of Care Workers and Cross

-

Cultural Care-upon Entr

y

of Care Workers from Southeast Asia” (2009–11) (Representative: Reiko OGAWA). Part

o

f the data has been published in Japanese in R. O

g

awa e

t

a

l.

2010, “Rainichi Dai-ichijin no Indoneshia-jin Kangoshi,

Ka

i

go Fukush

i

sh

i

Kohosha o Uke

i

reta Zenkoku no Byo

i

n/Ka

i

go Sh

i

setsu n

i

ta

i

suru Tsu

i

sek

i

Chosa (Da

i

-

i

ppo):

U

ke

i

re no Gen

j

o to Kada

i

o Chush

i

n n

i

” [

A

Follow-up Survey on Hosp

i

tals and Long-term Care Fac

i

l

i

t

i

es

A

ccept

i

ng

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i

rst Batch of Indones

i

an Nurse/Cert

i

f

i

ed Care-Worker Cand

i

dates (1):

A

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y

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i

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the anon

y

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y

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Abstract