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Ritsumeikan International Affairs

Vol.7 (2009)

Japan-Philippines Free Trade Agreement:Oppotunities for the movement of workers

CORTEZ, Michael Angelo A.

©Institute of International Relations and Area Studies, Ritsumeikan University

Abstract

With the movement of capital, goods, and services, comes themovement of people as a driving force of globalization. This paperexplores the recently forged free trade agreement (FTA) betweenthe Philippines and Japan on the movement of workers.Considering the asymmetric demographic and development trendsbetween the two countries, this paper explores the possibility ofmeeting the needs of both countries to increase productivity, withinthe context of bilateral trade. Although the FTA has been ratified,there are operational issues that need to be addressed to move itforward. These include language certification, mutual recognitionof professional qualifications, overcoming cultural apprehensionsand finally, the protection of the rights of migrant workers.

Keywords:

Labor, Migration, Workers, Free, Trade

INTRODUCTION

With the movement of capital, goods, and services, comes the move-ment of people as a driving force of globalization. It can be argued that if

Japan-Philippines Free Trade Agreement:Opportunities for the movement of workers

CORTEZ, Michael Angelo A.*

RITSUMEIKAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Vol.7, pp.125-144 (2009).* Assistant Professor, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

the movement of capital, goods, and services can be allowed, why not themovement of people to address the asymmetries in demographics andmanpower in trading countries? This paper explores the impact of therecently forged free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines andJapan on the movement of people. In an earlier study prepared for theJapan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), Tullao andCortez (2003a) suggested that the flow of temporary workers from thePhilippines to Japan should be restructured, from entertainers to what anaging society really needs, health workers and nurses. Exploring thisaspect of the Japan-Philippines free trade agreement is relevant in thecontext of strengthening economic relations between the two countries.Japanese investors are known for their commercial presence, particularlyin the electronics and automotive industry, in developing countries likethe Philippines. Since the reestablishment of diplomatic ties, Japan hasbecome the top aid donor to the Philippines, contributing US$9.4 billionover the past 23 years or 51 percent of all foreign loans. On the otherhand, the Philippines is reputed to be the leading exporter of labor in theworld, ranging from the semi-skilled to professional and technical work-ers.

Considering the asymmetric demographic and development trendsbetween the two countries, this paper explores the possibility of meetingthe needs of both countries to increase productivity, within the context ofbilateral trade. Japan’s aging population requires the assistance of healthservice providers while the Philippines attempts to maximize employmentopportunities in the domestic economy and abroad. While Japan’s healthsector has been closed to foreign corporations and their personnel, theaging population and the burden on public health expenditure are makingit necessary to open up this sensitive sector as part of the FTA with thePhilippines.

Factors affecting the movement of people

Temporary labor migration can be explained from three major theo-retical perspectives. The first sees it as a macroeconomic response andadjustment mechanism to asymmetries in demography and economicdevelopment in the host and sending countries. The second views migra-tion as a rational individual response to wage differential between coun-tries. The third looks at household decisions to maximize family income

RITSUMEIKAN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS126 【Vol.7

and minimize the scope of economic risks. The host country is normally characterized by rapid economic growth

accompanied by low population growth. This combination results in highdemand for labor due to economic expansion, coupled with a low level oflabor force participation due to demographic decline. On the other hand,the sending country is marked by lethargic economic performance coupledwith rapid population growth. This economic and demographic mix pro-duces a pool of unemployed workers. This asymmetry in demographic anddevelopment trends between the two countries is resolved through themigration of workers from the labor surplus to the labor deficit country. Ifa labor deficit country wishes to maintain a restrictive policy towards theentry of workers, it will have to adapt by increasing the wage rate toincrease participation in the labor force. The pull factor of higher wages inlabor receiving countries and the push factor of high levels of unemploy-ment and poverty in source countries are the most obvious and popularreasons for the temporary movement of migrant workers(Wickramasekera 2002). Ballescas (2003: p.550) adds high populationgrowth rate, slow domestic growth, and high levels of unemployment andunderemployment as other push factors that make migrant workers seekgreener pastures. The pull factor in the case of Japan is the aging popula-tion and the subsequent shortage of young workers.

Young Japanese workers have developed negative attitudes towardsjobs classified as “3K” or “3D” jobs: kitanai (dirty), kiken (dangerous), andkitsui (difficult). While the Japanese are culturally obligated to takingcare of their elderly, changing work and family patterns have led to a shifttowards hiring health workers to assume the responsibility. The ability ofthe Japanese to pay for health services and the comparatively attractivewages that working in Japan can offer serve as pull factors for Filipinolabor migration from the first perspective mentioned above. The secondperspective explains migration in terms of the personal decisions of theworkers to improve their standard of living, while the third points to thedevelopment of a migration culture among families and networks ofmigrants. Incidentally, Ballescas (2003, p.563) has presented a moredetailed explanation of temporary labor migration of Filipino workers toJapan. Citing a study by Truong (1996), Ballescas (2003 p. 565) suggeststhat Filipino female migration to Japan can also be seen as fulfilling thereproductive requirements of the Japanese population. With declining fer-

Japan-Philippines Free Trade Agreement:Opportunities for the movement of workers（CORTEZ）2009】 127

tility rates, and as more female Japanese workers become career centeredand reject domesticity, some Japanese men have looked to Filipino femaleentertainment workers to address their reproductive and marital needs.

The historical flow and demographic profile of Filipino workersto Japan

Based on recent estimates from the Philippine Overseas EmploymentAdministration (POEA), 667,226 Filipinos are currently deployed in morethan 200 countries and trust territories around the globe, including theMiddle East, Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. Althoughskilled and professional workers from the Philippines are spread aroundthe world, workers with certain skills tend to cluster in specific countries.POEA records show that Filipino domestic helpers tend to be concentratedin Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia, entertainers in Japan and otherSoutheast Asian countries, IT professionals and nurses in the UnitedStates, and nurses in the United Kingdom (POEA 2006). In 2005, Japanranked fifth as a destination for overseas Filipino workers, with 42,586workers deployed. This was even though deployment had decreased by 42percent from 74,480 workers in 2004, when Japan ranked fourth, as aresult of a crackdown on illegal workers and stringent new requirementsfor professional entertainers. However, Japan is still the second most pop-ular destination for newly hired workers. In 2004, 71,166 workers werehired, though in 2005 the number decreased to 38,756.

The Commission on Overseas Filipinos estimates that there werearound 83,303 workers on a permanent basis and 238,522 temporaryworkers in Japan as of 2004. The number of irregular migrants was esti-mated at 31,428. In Asia, Japan has the highest number of permanentand temporary Filipino workers. Malaysia and Singapore, however, havemore irregular migrants, given that Japan has tightened its immigrationmeasures. According to the United Nations Economic and SocialCommission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP 2002), migration is structur-al and demand driven. Women’s migration and their concentration indomestic services and the entertainment sector suggest that the labormarket is not only segmented but also gendered. Since entertainers,dancers, musicians and singers are clustered mainly in Japan, based ondisaggregated information on outbound professions by the POEA, Table 1summarizes the outflow of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and is bro-


ken down by gender. Performing artists are referred to as “guest enter-tainers” in Japan and as such are accorded recognition as “professionals.”These professional entertainers worked under contract with agents andtalent managers in the Philippines and club managers in Japan. The largescale flow into Japan’s entertainment market passed the scrutiny of immi-gration rules that required them to have artist certification from theirhome governments or other documentary credentials. From a mere 5,508Filipino entrants into Japan in 1960, the number increased several fold to20,477 in 1970 and 129,053 in 1998. In 2002, of the total 667,226 OFWsdeployed by the Philippines, some 77,870 went to Japan, though as men-tioned above, the number fell after the immigration crackdown in 2004.

Filipino migration to Japan used to be predominantly male in the


Table 1. Deployed New Hires by Sex and Skills, 1992-2000

Sex

Choreographers &

Dancers

Composers,

Musicians &

Singers

Professional

Nurses

Domestic

Helpers

1992 Male 1,552 416 536 1,334

Female 33,979 2,572 4,230 46,243

1993 Male 370 247 599 1,135

Female 12,342 941 5,231 60,244

1994 Male 846 387 948 1,559

Female 26,620 1,963 5,357 63,833

1995 Male 657 221 1,133 1,241

Female 14,498 1,220 6,295 59,698

1996 Male 647 245 640 1,017

Female 13,445 1,869 4,017 60,184

1997 Male 802 283 669 745

Female 24,833 4,164 3,552 46,785

1998 Male 720 485 663 1,035

Female 25,923 7,781 2,892 45,868

1999 Male 606 610 828 777

Female 28,731 13,602 4,497 52,268

2000 Male 1,063 919 1,273 1,367

Female 34,475 23,048 6,410 66,890

Source: POEA (2006). www.poea.gov.ph

1970s, reflecting the general exodus of migrant contract workers for theMiddle East and elsewhere. However, at the beginning of the 1980s,migration to Japan became female dominated. In 1970, there were 8,789female and 11,688 male Filipino migrants. In 1980, the number of femalemigrants jumped to 14,962, overtaking that of Filipino males (12,940). By1990, the number of Filipino males in Japan had doubled to 24,956 whilethe number of females had soared 5.5 times to 83,336. The numbers ofmale migrants continued to rise slowly, to 26,856 in 1993, but with a slightdecrease in female migration (79,538 in 1993), even though the latter stillpredominated (Ballescas 2003: p. 549).

Filipino male temporary labor migration has consisted mostly oftrainees under Japan’s training system. Japanese firms in the automotiveand semiconductor industries in the Philippines send their workers toJapan for training. The changes in female migration have reflected bothchanging bilateral arrangements between the two countries and marketrealities. A study of Filipino female labor migration to Japan by Osteria(1994: p. 9) revealed that most of the domestic helpers seeking work inJapan were either hired directly or came as tourists. Relatives working inJapan were also instrumental in facilitating recruitment. Entertainerswere on average younger than domestic helpers by nine years. However,domestic helpers were better educated than entertainers, as evidenced bya high percentage of women with college education. While entertainerswere mostly single, domestic helpers were usually married, widowed orseparated (Osteria 1994: p. 23).

Current level of remittances and volume of workers

OFW remittances from Japan grew at a steady rate from US$122 mil-lion in 1997 to US$300 million in 2005. Table 2 summarizes OFW remit-tances from Japan. The remittances from Japan in 2005 were 25 percentof the total from all over Asia; and 3 percent of the total worldwide, whichhad by then overtaken the US$10 billion mark.



Table 2. Remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (‘000 USD)

Year Sea-based Land-based Total

1997 8,873 122,502 131,375

1998 7,333 100,474 107,807

1999 43,820 230,111 273,931

2000 46,739 323,358 370,097

2001 18,248 373,623 391,871

2002 25,402 465,623 491,025

2003 41,499 304,558 346,057

2004 48,567 259,561 308,128

2005 55,709 300,950 356,659

Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas www.bsp.gov.ph (BSP 2006)

Figure 1. Factors explaining migration from the Philippines to Japan

Economic Development Factors

Demographic Factors

Economic Expansion

Decline in Fertility Rate

Increase in Life Expectancy

Demand for Workers (increase)

Labor Force Participation Rate (decrease)

Dependency Ratio (increase)

Excess Demand for Workers

Ageing Population (increase)

Enhanced Elderly

Employment

Enhanced Youth

Employment

Entry of Foreign Nationals

Health Care Requirements (increase)

Pension Costs (increase)

Medical Costs (increase)

Alternative to Hospitals

Home-help Services

Source: Tullao and Cortez (2003a).

To understand the need for home-help services, the complex interac-tion of economic development and demographic factors has to be consid-ered (Figure 1). Economic expansion leads to increased demand for work-ers. For demographic factors, Japan’s declining fertility rates and theincrease in life expectancy of the population have decreased the labor forceparticipation rate while at the same time increasing the dependency ratio.The high dependency ratio requires an increase in the number of theworking population to care for the aging, thus creating a demand forworkers. This demand many be met either by greater participation ofJapanese women in the labor force or the employment of foreign workers.

As aging increases, there are corresponding increases in pension costsand health care requirements. Resulting medical costs may lead to newmethods of caring for the elderly, such as home help care services.Considering the changing work and family values of Japanese workers,employing foreign nationals as home helps may be seen as meetingJapanese family obligations. Relations within the family may even beimproved through the removal of the care burden from family members(Saito 2003: pp. 209-210).

Japan’s aging population

In 2001, Japan had a population of 127.5 million, a working-age popu-lation (15 years old and over) of 108.8 million, and a workforce (thoseemployed plus those classified as unemployed) of 67.5 million. Femalesmade up 41 percent of the workforce. The aging population is apparent inTable 3. In 1990, 23.8 percent of Japanese were 55 years or older while12.1 percent were 65 years or older. By 2001, the aging population hadgrown by 30 percent. Those aged 55 years or older made up 30.4 percent ofthe population, while the proportion of those 65 years or older had risen to17.8 percent. Aging is a recognized phenomenon in developed countries.However, the trend in Japan differs in its speed. Changes which will takethe United States 56 years to attain, compared with 70 years in Germanyand 75 years in Britain, are forecast to take place in Japan in only 21years. By the year 2010, it is projected that 37 percent of Japan’s popula-tion will be 55 or older, and 22.5 percent will be 65 or older (Sasajima2003: p.15).


Table 4 projects that the percentage of the population aged 65 or oldercould even reach 36 percent by 2050, rising from a projected 28.7 percentin 2010.

Japanese workers work until they are 65 years of age before they areentitled to a retirement pension. The main problem the government facesas a result of the aging of the population is the deteriorating financialhealth of the public pension system. The government reforms the publicpension system every five years, and among the measures it has taken tostem the financial woes are cutting the level of pension payments, increas-ing the level of contributions, and gradually raising the starting age forthe payment of public pensions 65 between 2001 to 2025 (Sasajima 2003page 15).


Table 3. Japanese population and labor force projections (’000,000)

Population Labor force

Age 1990 2001 2010 1990 2001 2010

0-14 22.5 18.3 17.1 - - -

15-29 27.0 25.6 20.4 14.7 15.6 12.3

30-54 44.6 44.5 42.8 36.2 36.4 35.5

55-59 7.7 8.3 8.6 5.6 6.3 6.7

60-64 6.8 7.8 9.9 3.7 4.3 6.3

65- 14.9 22.6 28.7 3.6 4.9 6.6

Total 123.5 127.1 127.5 63.8 67.5 67.4

Share %

55 or over 23.8 30.4 37.0 20.2 23.0 29.1

65 or over 12.1 17.8 22.5 5.6 7.3 9.8

Sources: Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts &Telecommunications in Sasajima 2003: p. 15Rodoryoku chosa (labor force survey) and Ministry of Health and Welfare,Rodoryoku jukyu no tenbo to kadai(Projections for issues in supply and demand in the labor force), 1999Sasajima (2003: p. 15)

Filipino nurses and caregivers

Nurses

The Philippines has been exporting nurses to the United States,United Kingdom, and the Middle East for many years. Table 5 summa-rizes the deployment of newly hired nurses from 1998 to the first half of2005. Since the oil boom in the 1970s, Middle-Eastern countries haveemployed the majority of Filipino nurses abroad. Saudi Arabia led thegroup of destination countries with a total of 62,025 nurses hired between1995 and 2005, followed by the United Kingdom with 16,552.


Year Total Age 65 and over % of Total

1995 125,570 18,277 15%

2000 126,926 22,041 17%

2010 127,473 28,735 23%

2020 124,107 34,559 28%

2030 117,580 34,770 30%

2040 109,338 36,332 33%

2050 100,593 35,863 36%

Source: National Institute of Population and SocialSecurity Research. Facts and Figures of Japan (2003: p. 10)

Table 5. Filipino nurses hired, by country,1995-2005

Country Volume

Saudi Arabia 62,025

United Kingdom 16,552

United States 12,232

United Arab Emirates 4,538

Singapore 4,150

Ireland 3,318

Libya 2,934

Kuwait 2,472

Taiwan 1,205

Qatar 1,049

Total 110,475

Source: POEA (2006)www.poea.gov.ph

Table 4. Estimated proportion of Japanese population 65 and over, 1995 to 2050(’000 people)

The deployment of Filipino nurses worldwide varies over time, with arise around the turn of the century, followed by a fall.

Nurses are lured by the high wages abroad compared to the meagersalaries provided by Philippine hospitals. A Filipino nurse would earnroughly US$200 per month in the Philippines as compared to US$4,000per month in the United States.

Caregivers

With the opportunities in destination countries for health serviceproviders and allied services, a new segment in the Philippine health ser-vices sector has emerged, that of “care-giving.” A caregiver can be definedas a person who has responsibility for meeting the physical and psycholog-ical needs of an infant or dependent adult. A caregiver provides privatehousehold childcare, senior support care or care of the disabled withoutsupervision (TESDA 2006). This sector, which serves developed countrieswith aging populations, has attracted increasing numbers of Filipinomigrant workers. The POEA classifies care-giving services as skilled, con-sidering the training and certification process a worker has to undergo


Year Volume % Change

1995 7,954 -

1996 5,477 -31%

1997 5,245 -4%

1998 5,399 3%

1999 5,972 11%

2000 8,341 40%

2001 13,822 66%

2002 12,335 -11%

2003 9,270 -25%

2004 8,879 -4%

2005 7,748 -13%

Total 90,442

Source: POEA (2006) www.poea.gov.ph

Table 6. Deployment of newly-hired Filipino nurses by year,1995-2005

before deployment overseas. It is forecasted that the demand for care-giv-ing will continue to rise in future years. Demand is most likely to grow incountries with aging populations such as Canada (TESDA 2006). Canada’slive-in caregiver program offers temporary employment opportunities forindividuals willing to provide care for children, the elderly or people withdisabilities in their own homes. Eligibility requirements include the equiv-alent of high school education, training or experience in a related field,and an ability to work using the English language. Caregivers who com-plete 24 months of full-time live-in employment during a 36-month periodcan apply for permanent landed immigrant status for themselves andtheir dependents (Spigelman 2000). Table 7 shows the aggregate outflowsof hired caregivers from the Philippines from 2001 to 2005.

As a result of a perceived demand, caregiver training institutionshave mushroomed all over the Philippines. In 2004, there were around758 institutions registered with and regulated by the Technical Educationand Skills Development Authority (TESDA). However, TESDA is closelymonitoring the registered institutions in order to curb the proliferation ofunauthorized training centers. All caregiver programs are being evaluatedbased on regulations for training caregivers promulgated by the TESDABoard. While nursing schools have introduced care-giving as a vocationalalternative, there are institutions that particularly focus on the vocationitself, as well as other technical and vocational institutions that have beenspun off to provide training in related services.

TESDA, however, has issued a memorandum that the demand forcaregivers is not sufficient to absorb the output of all the training institu-


Year Number % Change

2001 465 -

2002 5,383 1058%

2003 18,878 251%

2004 20,394 8%

2005 16,146 -21%

Total 61,266

Source: POEA (2006) www.poea.gov.ph

Table 7. Annual deployment of newly-hired caregivers from the Philippines,2001-2005

tions. From 2002 to 2003, around 54,644 students graduated from thecare-giving programs of the 758 institutions. However, from the deploy-ment statistics in Table 7, it appears that only 36,146 were deployed in2004 and 2005 combined (TESDA 2006).

In an attempt to standardize, assess, certify and monitor the caregiv-er training program in the country, TESDA has proposed caregiver coursemodules covering the following:

• Overview of the live-in care-giver program of Canada• Introduction to live-in care-giver skills enhancement• Basic first aid• Basic life support• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)• Home and client safety management• Home management and client care• Nutrition and food preparation• Care of children• Care of the elderly• Canadian culture, people and traits• English as a second language• Personality development

The above standards are used for registration of programs, assess-ment, certification and monitoring of training institutions in thePhilippines and may be used as criteria for domestic regulations in otherdestination countries (TESDA 2006), such as in the case of Japan.

The Japan-Philippines Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

The Japan-Philippines Free Trade Agreement is the first of its kindfor Japan because it includes landmark provisions on the movement oflabor. Under the agreement, a limited number of Philippine nurses andcaregivers will be allowed to work in Japan on condition that they passJapanese qualifying examinations. The FTA will also remove tariff dutieson more than 90 percent of trade in goods between the two countries. Thisagreement is intended to strengthen the economic collaboration betweenthe two trading countries by increasing the flow of goods, persons, invest-ments and services. Under the agreement, Japan agreed to accept 400


nurses and 600 caregivers beginning from the fiscal year April 1, 2007,provided that the countries completed all the procedures including parlia-mentary ratification of the pact. Japan’s vice labor minister thought thenumbers “realistic and appropriate,” and that they would have no nega-tive effects on the domestic labor market (Japan Times 2006).

As for domestic regulations, nurses and caregivers would have to passexaminations in Japan to be certified for work. Accordingly, these workerswould have to take Japanese language lessons for six months when theyarrive in Japan. In addition, specialized training in Japanese hospitalsand facilities for the elderly is required. Nurses will be given three yearsto pass the licensing examination while caregivers will be required to passthe exam within four years. Workers who pass the exam will be allowed towork in Japan indefinitely.

Implications and policy options on the movement of natural per-sons

Language and cultural training

Since language and culture are major barriers to access the Japanesemarket, TESDA could assess, certify and monitor the operations of lan-guage training centers in the Philippines. All Japan-bound health profes-sionals could be required to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Testand course units in Japanese culture before departure. A set of criteria fortraining and certification of caregivers catering to the Japanese marketcould be created, similar to the standards established for the Canadianmarket. As for language proficiency, the Japanese Language Institute ofthe Philippines (JPIL) and other Japanese language programs of rep-utable Philippine universities could be accredited, so that prospectivemigrant health service workers could learn Japanese and qualify whilestill in the Philippines. Eliminating the language barrier would allowFilipino health service providers to achieve the remaining requirementsmore easily. Tertiary health courses could also include units in languageand culture to equip the graduates with a working knowledge of their des-tination country.

Mutual recognition


Expanding training in professional services will require the accredita-tion of qualifications of service providers in the light of existing differencesin training requirements, standards and licensing mechanisms betweencountries. In addition, domestic rules governing the practice of a profes-sion entail not only licensing procedures but also protection against possi-ble risks stemming from the incompetence of service providers. A study byRamirez (2001) concluded that the quality of Filipino nursing graduates ison a par with the other more developed APEC member countries. In orderto enhance access by Filipino nurses who are now recognized as serviceproviders in the United States, United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia, localaccreditation bodies like the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)should now aim at regional accreditation and certification. This will pavethe way for local Professional Associations like the Philippine NursesAssociation, to enter into mutual recognition agreements within the APECregion. Aiming for international comparability and standards will alsoserve as a challenge to the Philippine educational system and for nursingeducation in particular to gain more international respect and recognition(Ramirez 2001). Another bilateral avenue would be through a MutualRecognition Agreement (MRA) with Japan on specific key professions andoccupations. An MRA is an ideal option because it focuses on particularmarket access issues including qualifications and technical standardrequirements for specific professionals and workers. Bilateral negotia-tions, as in the case of Japan and the Philippines, are more practicablesince countries are able to focus on and resolve key issues related to theirtwo situations. Once bilateral agreements have been achieved, this canlead to other bilateral agreements, which will ultimately extend mutualrecognition more widely.

If the MRA is based on recognition of qualifications, the followingshould be included:

• Minimum level of education required, including the entry require-ments, length of study, and curriculum

• Minimum level of experience required, including length of condi-tions or practical training or supervised professional practice priorto licensing

• A framework of ethical and disciplinary standards• Examinations passed and the extent to which home country qualifi-


cations are recognized in the host country.

Aside from enhancing the market access for individual caregivers, thePhilippines should explore the liberalization of entry to the Japanese mar-ket of Filipino health-care agencies, and consider of how Filipino healthprofessionals, including doctors, nurses, dentists, and physical therapists,can enter the Japanese health care sector. The Philippines should workout a mutual recognition agreement with Japan on educational qualifica-tions, professional requirements, and other technical standards so thatthe qualifications of Filipino health professionals can be recognized inJapan. Such recognition is a major prerequisite for entry and eventualemployment.

Cultural apprehensions

Japanese elderly people have a strong opposition to being taken careof by strangers. They feel that the family should provide the care. Thevalue placed on inkyo (“live in hiding”) also explains why they want to livequietly and without disturbance to other people. This tendency among theelderly in Japan was one of the reasons why the detection of sickness wasoften delayed (Saito 2003: p. 206). In the pre-World War II era, theJapanese brought up their children in the expectation of support in theirold age. The reason for developing a “Japanese-style welfare society” inthe 1970s was to create an inexpensive welfare state where women provid-ed care for their elderly parents at home. Even now, 85 percent of long-term care providers are women (Saito 2003: p.206). Saito mentions anoth-er cultural preference of the Japanese elderly, which is to live in hospitalsrather than homes for the elderly. They think that old age homes are forpoor people. At one time, these homes were places for the elderly whocould not be taken care of by their families. As a result, medical expensesfor the elderly are increasing year by year in Japan.

Domestic regulations – numerical quotas

Numerical quotas may no longer hold in the future if market forcesmean that the services of foreign workers are no longer needed. This con-cern, however, can be addressed through special clauses under the agree-


ment like fixing the term of employment. These can be invoked in cases orconditions warranting disengagement from the commitment to employ themigrants.

Issues of protection

Discrimination is also a major issue in temporary labor migration.Migrant workers are discriminated against in some host countries as theyare seen as grabbing opportunities from the local labor force. In Japan,workers fear that working conditions of Japanese workers will deterioratewith the entry of a new and cheaper pool of labor. The Japan NursingAssociation has cautioned that many hospitals suffer from staff shortagesbecause work rules are inflexible, citing the example of women forced toquit when they have children (Japan Times 2006). The Nippon CareService Craft Union is also apprehensive of “importing a makeshift laborforce” from overseas instead of utilizing potential workers from Japan.The union argued that unemployed Japanese youth may be willing towork as caregivers but current working conditions are unfavorable andwould not allow them to make a living. Importing foreign workers maylower wages in the service sector, and leave them staffed entirely with for-eign workers. In relation to this, proper living conditions for foreign work-ers in terms of salary, education and medical care have to be ensured toprevent social unrest.

Bilateral economic agreements and implementation of guidelinesbetween the Philippines and Japan should include provisions on the pro-tection of overseas Filipino workers in Japan, covering the period fromrecruitment to their return to the Philippines. Although Japan has strictimmigration policies and labor laws that adhere to international stan-dards, the prevalence of abuse, discrimination, non-payment of wages, vio-lation of contracts and the rising numbers of missing and irregularmigrants indicate that the implementation of these laws is very lax. Asidefrom identifying the flaws in the legal framework of protection, there is aneed to regulate migration flows at both ends so that OFWs will not endup as the victims of illegal recruiters, crime syndicates and unscrupulousemployers.

With the exit of highly skilled professionals from the Philippines, theproblem of brain drain as a consequence of overseas employment becomes


an issue. However, the brain drain can be transformed into a “brain gain”through technology transfer. Filipino professionals training in Japanshould be encouraged to learn to use the latest technology in differentfields. The training and experience that they can gain in Japan could beapplied in the Philippines upon their return. There should be a mecha-nism that would ensure the return of Filipinos who have undergone train-ing in Japan to the Philippines, and reduce the temptation to becomeirregular workers.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Given the aging population in Japan on the one hand, and the abilityof the Philippine human resource development institutions to train healthworkers on the other, it will be of mutual benefit to both countries if theentry of Filipino nurses and caregivers is liberalized to promote increasedproductivity.

Although the FTA has been signed1) there are issues that need to beaddressed for the mutual benefit of the two countries. The first is the lan-guage barrier, where Filipino health service providers are compelled toprove their Japanese language proficiency. However, the FTA stipulatesthat they must qualify while they are in Japan to enable them to stayindefinitely. Government and policy makers should rethink this provisionand consider Filipino health workers learning and taking language certifi-cation examinations from an accredited Japanese language teaching insti-tution or university in the Philippines.

Second, mutual recognition of qualifications may also facilitate thefreer movement of workers. As with arrangements with European coun-tries, Filipino nurses could initially serve as nursing assistants until suchtime as they prove their competence as required by Japanese qualityassurance standards. Mutual recognition agreements for professionalshave recently been forged between the Philippines and the ASEAN; thePhilippines and Alberta, Canada.

Third, cultural apprehension could be addressed by the Japanese gov-ernment by highlighting the increased productivity of Japanese workers.Similarly, awareness of Japanese culture would help eliminate the cultur-al barrier between Filipino workers and Japanese patients.


1) The FTA been ratified by the Philippine Congress as of October 2008.

The issue of numerical quotas, however, should be examined, toinclude provisions to allow for changing market forces. The quotas may belimited or extended depending on the success of the movement of healthservice providers to Japan.

As for the issue of protection, the implementation of FTA guidelinesshould guarantee international standards and protection against abuse,discrimination, non-payment of wages, and violation of contracts. The exo-dus of nurses and care-givers may have detrimental effects on thePhilippine healthcare system but, considering that the movement toJapan is only temporary, their exposure to advanced technology and car-ing procedures may result in a later brain gain. The training and experi-ence they receive in Japan can be applied in the Philippines upon theirreturn. A mechanism for their return should be in place to prevent irregu-lar migration.

Finally, there is a need to strengthen the regulatory measures by bothgovernments to ensure the quality and protection of workers.

REFERENCES

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