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BASIC INFORMATION
What’s Japan like? How to get a job in the nursing care field in Japan? Let us introduce the basic information about Japan and four different types of status of residence to work as a care worker.
Japan is the biggest island in East Asia, that stretches from north to south. The total land area is ranked as the 60th in the world. It is as big as Vietnam, and Malaysia in Asia, and Germany in Europe. There are five major islands: from north, Hokkaido, Honshu (the main island), Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. There are also over 6,800 small islands.
Population:
About 126,020,000※1
Average age:
46.4 Years Old
The total population hit its peak in 2008, with 128,080,000, and has been declining since then. In 2019, the working age population, aged 15-64, was about 60 percent of the population and about 28 percent were classified as elderly (over 65). Japan has the world’s highest aging rate.※2
Language:
Japanese
There are three major writing systems in Japanese: ‘Kanji,’‘Hiragana’ and ‘Katakana.’ There is also ‘Romaji’ which is used to show how the characters written are read. As for spoken language, there are numbers of dialects according to areas.
Currency:
Yen(¥)
Six coins and four notes are used as Japanese currency. The exchange rate of the currency is 110 Japanese yen to the US dollar (as of February 2020). The stations and shops where you can use electronic money are increasing in major cities these days.
Religions:
Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity and More
Japanese people enjoy a variety of religious-oriented cultures like Christmas. For example, visiting shrines or temples on New Year’s Day is called ‘Hatsumoude.’ In August, there is ‘Obon’ which honors the spirits of ancestors. There are also many people who have no particular thoughts on religion.
Politics:
Democracy
It is based on three principles of Japan’s Constitution: ‘Sovereignty of the People,’ ‘Respect for Fundamental Human Rights’ and ‘Pacifism.’ Japan is a democratic country therefore the members of the government are chosen by the nations at the election.
Weather:
Subarctic to Subtropical
As Japan stretches long from north to south, the weather differs from subarctic to subtropical climates. Most parts of the country belong to the temperate zone with four distinctive seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter). There are many mountain ranges so they cause cloudy, rainy or snowy weather on the Japan Sea side and sunny weather on the Pacific Ocean side. The weather is very different in each area.
1,460,463 (In the Field of Medical Care and Welfare: 26,086)※5
The number of international residents and workers is increasing every year. Half of them are from China, Vietnam and the Philippines. Most of the workers are engaged in manufacturing, and those who work in the medical and welfare field are still 1.8% of all the working population.
※1‘Statistics’ from the Statistics Bureau of Japan (As of January 1st, 2020)
※2‘Annual Report on the Aging Society’ (2019) by the Japan Cabinet Office, ‘Databook of International Labor Statistics 2018’ by The Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training
※3The temperatures cited above are based on the average data recorded on ‘Historical Weather Data Search’ by the Japan Meteorological Agency from 1981 until 2010.
※4‘Press Release: The Total Number of Foreign Residents’ (2019) by the Japan Ministry of Justice Immigration Service Agency
※5‘Status of Reporting on the Employment of Foreign Workers by Employers’ (October 2018) by the Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare