Japanese co-workers’ view of their communication with EPA foreign nurse trainees

Abstract

Japanese language education for non-native speakers of Japanese (NNSJs) has attracted much attention with the growth in the number of NNSJs living in Japan. The employment of nurse trainees from Southeast Asian countries under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which commenced in 2008, has elicited a strong reaction from the public and media due to three significant points:1) it provides a path to permanent residency for these foreign workers;2) the Japanese government officially supports Japanese language training for foreign workers; and3) the foreign workers enter medical fields that require a high level of Japanese proficiency.However, nearly a decade after the commencement of the scheme, the trainees’ national nursing exam pass rate remains below15% and there are even some trainees who pass the exam but do not stay in Japan.This study investigates Japanese co-workers’ view of their communication with EPA nurse trainees from the perspective of language policy and planning (LPP). I examine the government’s resources regarding the EPA scheme to highlight the issues and reveal the government’s view of the scheme. I conducted a survey targeting the Japanese co-workers of trainees at three host hospitals to reveal the scheme’s implementation from the perspective of individual stakeholders. Questionnaires completed by 34 Japanese co-workers and follow-up interviews with 7 co-workers capture their evaluation and perception of the trainees, their communication with the trainees, and their views on issues surrounding the scheme. This study takes the Japanese co-workers as its focus since they communicate with the trainees most often at work, and so are likely to influence and be influenced by the trainees’ work training and Japanese language learning. This study among the first to discuss Japanese language education policy for EPA nurse trainees from the viewpoint of Japanese co- workers.The results indicate that although the scheme’s general objectives are simple and clear, their interpretation varies among the four Japanese ministries that are involved in the scheme’s operation. I demonstrate that the government and each ministry have different objectives and intentions as they operate at different levels of the language policy and they have different needs and agendas according to their positions and roles within the scheme. In addition, the survey results reveal that the Japanese co-workers treat trainees as guests rather than colleagues, which is an example of Japanese native-speakerist practice. Japanese co-workers evaluate the trainees’ Japanese proficiency relatively positively and the trainees as effective workers only because the trainees work as nurse’s aides under the scheme. The trainees’ low exam pass rate and the number of returnees do not meet the Japanese government’s expectations which are stated in the scheme’s general objectives. However, treating the trainees as guests, or temporary visitors, at an individual level reflects the Japanese government’s view of the scheme, in which the scheme is treated as an exception to Japan’s other immigration policies. Furthermore, I argue that despite applying a variety of strategies to facilitate their communication with the trainees, the Japanese co-workers nevertheless find it difficult to remain confident about their communication with the trainees. This is due to the Japanese co-workers’ lack of experience in communicating with NNSJs and lack of institutional support, which is also rooted in an overall lack of government support.The study concludes that the scheme is not currently functioning well despite its great potential as it fails to satisfy the needs of any of its stakeholders, including the Japanese co-workers. This study therefore argues that it is important to consider every stakeholder involved in the LPP and calls for the Japanese government to consider the Japanese co-workers’ views. This would enable effective communication between the Japanese co-workers and trainees within the EPA scheme, which is seen as a test case of future immigration policy in Japan.