Aging Japan, Mobile Care Labor: A Competency-Based Approach to Indonesian Migrant Caregivers

Japan is aging faster than almost any society on earth, and its long-term care system now depends on workers from abroad. Indonesian caregivers, who first arrived under the 2008 economic partnership agreement, have become a vital part of that workforce. Yet what makes them competent, and how that competence is built, tested, and recognized, remains poorly understood.This book offers a competency-based answer. Drawing on Competency-Based Theory, Human Capital Theory, and Cross-Cultural Adjustment Theory, it identifies five core dimensions: Japanese language competency, cultural intelligence, clinical and technical caregiving skill, interpersonal communication, and psychological resilience. It traces how each is developed through pre-departure training, workplace learning, and the Kaigo Fukushishi national examination.Its central argument is that competence cannot be read from a certificate or language level alone; it is formed across institutions and judged against Japanese standards of safe, dignified care. Written for scholars, HR practitioners, training institutions, and policymakers, the book charts a path toward sustainable care labor mobility.