Nursing Care Jobs in Japan for Foreigners: Routes, Daily Work and Career Path

The four main routes into care work

Specified Skilled Worker (i) in nursing care is the most common direct route today. You need to pass the nursing care skills test and the Nursing Care Japanese Evaluation Test, plus a general Japanese test (JFT-Basic or JLPT N4 or above). Under SSW (i) you can stay for up to five years in total. Unlike some other fields, nursing care has no SSW (ii), so SSW alone is not a long-term route in this field.

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) program brings care worker candidates from certain partner countries. Candidates work at designated facilities while preparing for the national Certified Care Worker exam, within a set period. Recruitment and placement go through official channels, so check the current conditions with the organizations in your country.

The Care Worker status (在留資格「介護」) is for people who hold Japan's national Certified Care Worker qualification (介護福祉士). Many people reach it after studying at a training school in Japan, and people who gained practical experience in Japan, for example under SSW or technical intern training, may be able to take the national exam after meeting the experience and training conditions. Technical Intern Training in nursing care is the fourth route; that program is scheduled to be replaced by the new Employment for Skill Development system (育成就労), so check how the transition applies before relying on it.

The long-term route: Certified Care Worker and the Care Worker status

Because there is no SSW (ii) in nursing care, the usual way to build a long-term career in Japan in this field is to pass the Certified Care Worker exam (介護福祉士国家試験) and move to the Care Worker status. That status can be renewed without a fixed upper limit as long as you keep working in care and meet the conditions, and it allows your family to join you under the dependent status.

The exam is written in Japanese and covers care techniques, the body and mind, communication, social welfare systems and more. For people working under SSW, the exam normally becomes possible once you have enough practical experience and have completed the required practitioner training (実務者研修). Plan early: many people study for the exam in parallel with their work over several years.

The exact experience and eligibility conditions are set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the exam body, and immigration decisions are made by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan. Passing the exam is a major step, but no qualification makes a status change automatic.

What the job involves day to day

Care work means supporting residents or users in daily life: helping with meals, bathing and toileting, moving between bed and wheelchair, changing clothes, and taking part in recreation. Just as important is watching for changes in someone's condition and reporting them to nurses and senior staff.

There is also a lot of recording. Staff write care records about meals, fluid intake, toileting and mood, often on tablets or paper forms in Japanese. Handover meetings at shift change share what happened, and good reporting is one of the skills employers value most.

The work is physical. Transfers and bathing assistance put strain on your back, so learning correct body mechanics, and using lifts and other equipment where available, matters for staying healthy over years.

• Meal, bathing and toileting assistance
• Transfers, walking support and position changes
• Recreation and conversation with residents
• Care records and handover reports in Japanese
• Watching for changes in health and reporting quickly

Shifts and working patterns

Residential facilities such as special nursing homes (特別養護老人ホーム) and group homes run 24 hours a day, so staff usually rotate between early, day, late and night shifts. Night shifts are often long, with fewer staff on duty, and bring a night-shift allowance at many facilities. Day services (デイサービス) usually operate only during daytime and often close on some days of the week.

Ask at the interview how many night shifts a month are typical, how long each shift is, how days off are decided, and what training new staff receive before working nights. Conditions and allowances differ from facility to facility, so compare actual job offers.

How much Japanese you really need

The entry requirement for SSW (i) nursing care is JFT-Basic or JLPT N4 plus the Nursing Care Japanese Evaluation Test. That is the legal minimum, not the level at which the work feels comfortable. Residents are often older people who speak quickly, use regional dialects or have hearing difficulties, and records must be written in Japanese.

In practice, many workers find daily care manageable around N3 after some months on the job, with support from colleagues. Reading and writing care records, understanding the words used by nurses and doctors, and passing the Certified Care Worker exam all require more. Aiming for N3 early and N2 over time is a realistic plan for a long-term career.

Learn care-specific words alongside general Japanese: body parts, symptoms, the names of assistance tasks and the polite forms used with residents. Many facilities provide study time or support for the national exam, so ask about it before accepting an offer.

Career path in care

A typical path starts as a care staff member, adds practitioner training, then the Certified Care Worker qualification. After that, roles such as unit leader, shift leader and training staff for newer foreign workers become possible. Some people later study toward care manager (介護支援専門員) or other specialist roles, which have their own experience and exam requirements.

Your residence plan should run alongside your career plan. Under SSW (i), the five-year limit in this field means the national exam matters a great deal, so check when you will become eligible and how the facility will support you. If you want to change employers under SSW, remember that you need permission for the change of status before starting at the new workplace.