INDONESIA TO SEND 400 NURSES TO JAPAN IN AUGUST

Makassar, June 17 (ANTARA) - A total of 400 Indonesian nurses will be sent to Japan next August under an economic agreement between Indonesia and Japan, a Japanese Embassy official said.
Masaro Sato, a consul at the Japanese embassy in Jakarta, made the statement here Teusday, on the sidelines of a seminar at Hasanuddin University held as part of activities to observe the 50th anniversary of Indonesia-Japan diplomatic relations.
Sato said it would mark the first time for Japan to recruit nurses from Indonesia.
"We are giving priority to nurses from Indonesia rather than from the Philippines because Japan and Indonesia share many similarities such as cultural diversity," Sato said.
He also noted Indonesia and Japan had been cooperating with each other in various sectors for decades.
He said Japan needed professional nurses who had two years of experience. They would be employed at a number of Japanese hospitals.
Besides nurses, the Japanese government also needed 600 caregivers. Hundreds of caregivers were scheduled to leave for Japan in July.
Sato did not specify the requirements for caregivers but said that those to be selected should be professionals.
The caregivers would be trained for six months in Japan in a number of skills and the Japanese language.