Japanese premier vows to help RP nurses, road users

HANOI, Vietnam – Philippine road users and nurses stand to benefit from assistance from Japan following talks between President Benigno Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan during the 17th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Communications Strategy Secretary Ricky Carandang said that during the talks Friday night, Kan promised to help make it easier for Filipino nurses to pass Japanese exams so that they could work in Japan under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement.

Carandang told reporters that one of the options was to train the Filipino nurses to speak Japanese even before they leave for Japan and before they take the exam.

He noted that the language barrier was what made it hard for Philippine nurses to enter Japan.

“They recognize that. They want to use simplified characters, they want to use abbreviations that are more internationally accepted so that our nurses could be easily accepted in Japan,” he said.

The strict language requirements under the JPEPA is one of the points of contention in the controversial agreement, with the Philippine Nurses Association saying that the high language skills required was an “almost impregnable barrier” and could lead to Filipino nurses ending up providing cheap labor as nursing trainees in Japanese health care facilities.

Kan also informed Mr. Aquino that Japan has just approved a P21.4-billion loan for maintenance and the improvement of road networks, a project to be handled by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Carandang said the approval for the loan came quickly, since the country completed the requirements for it only on Thursday.

The Philippines, for its part, volunteered to support Japan’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2016 to 2017. The voting is to be held in 2015.

“Our vote would go to Japan,” Carandang said.

The Security Council is tasked with maintaining international peace and security. It settles disputes and pushes for peaceful means of ending conflict. In case fighting erupts, the council seeks to end it as soon as possible. –Leila B. Salaverria, Philippine Daily