The labor ministry plans to launch its first survey as early as September on job changes by foreign nationals working at elderly care facilities, it has been learned.

Questionnaires and hearings will be conducted for officials at elderly care facilities that hire foreign human resources. The survey aims to understand the movement of foreign workers and how measures for such workers to settle in the country are implemented.

There are some cases in which foreign workers move from rural areas to work at nursing care facilities in urban areas or change their jobs to those other than elderly care.

The ministry plans to compile a report by the end of fiscal 2024 and use it to improve measures to secure and retain foreign human resources.

The survey will also cover foreign workers who have changed jobs or have a plan to do so, aiming to understand their circumstances.

It will collect information on efforts by facilities to hire and retain foreigners and related measures by local governments.

Japan accepts foreign workers under technical intern training and specified skilled worker programs as well as a scheme involving economic partnership agreements.

The technical intern training program, which aims to help foreigners learn skills in Japan and use them in their home countries, does not allow job changes in principle. But the specified skilled worker program, designed to address labor shortages in Japan, allows job changes if certain conditions are met.

The technical intern training program will be replaced by a new system focusing on human resources development as early as 2027. Foreign employees will be allowed to change jobs under the new system if certain conditions are met.