One month has passed since the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law came into effect on April 1 to facilitate the acceptance into Japan of an increased number of foreign workers.
A total of 964 foreigners took tests in Japan and abroad last month for three of the 14 industries covered by the new "specified skilled worker" residence status: nursing care, accommodation and food service. The results will be announced in May, and successful applicants will start working from around July.
Skill tests are being conducted first in these three industries, in which foreign technical intern trainees are not able to automatically transfer to the new residence status. Tests will also be conducted for the other industries during the current fiscal year.
The nursing care exam held in Manila on April 13 and 14 was taken by 113 Filipino applicants. A total of 391 people, including Vietnamese, Myanmar and Nepalese, took the accommodation exam in Tokyo, Osaka and five other sites on April 14, while 460 people, including Chinese, Vietnamese and Nepalese, took the food service exam in Tokyo and Osaka on April 25 and 26.
Most of the examinees in Japan are believed to have been foreign students.
As the number of nursing care applicants reached the limit right after the application process began, two more tests will be held in the future. A total of three tests will be conducted in the Philippines in May and June.
The food service exam will be carried out for about 2,000 people at seven sites in Japan in June and for about 3,000 people in autumn.
The government is in the process of signing a memorandum with nine countries that are expected to accept the deal, with the aim of eliminating illicit brokers.
At present, the Philippines, Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar and Mongolia have already signed a memorandum, and the government plans to conclude such agreements with Vietnam, China, Indonesia and Thailand at an early date.
No textbook for the test
Whether there are textbooks and sample questions for the test depends on the industry. Regarding the food service test, the Japan Foodservice Association created three textbooks for the test and released them in mid-March: "general customer service," "food and drink preparation" and "hygiene control," totaling about 110 pages.
In the exam held in Tokyo on April 25, some examinees were seen reading textbooks filled with red lines until just before the exam.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, which is in charge of nursing care, has released six sample questions for the nursing care exam in which an appropriate description is chosen from four choices.
"There were inquiries about whether there were any textbooks, so we want to consider creating one in the future," a ministry official in charge said.
In contrast, there are no sample questions or textbook for the accommodation exam. "The food service exam was easy because I studied with the textbook," said a Bangladeshi man, 33, who took both the accommodation and food service exam. "There were some technical terms I came across for the first time in the accommodation exam, so it was difficult. I didn't know what to study, so I wish I had a textbook."
The Japan Tourism Agency, which is in charge of accommodations, said it will consider whether to release sample questions to give examinees an idea of what the test will be like.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
