Specified Skilled Worker Nursing Care Jobs in Japan

Nursing care is one of the fields with the most demand for Specified Skilled Workers (SSW). To qualify for SSW (i) in this field you generally need to pass three things: the Nursing Care Skills Evaluation Test, the Nursing Care Japanese Language Evaluation Test, and a general Japanese test, either the JFT-Basic or JLPT N4 or higher. People who have completed the relevant Technical Intern Training in nursing care may be exempt from some of these. Typical work includes help with meals, bathing and toileting, recreation and support for daily living at nursing homes, day-service centres and similar facilities.

Nursing care differs from most SSW fields in two ways. First, there is no SSW (ii) in nursing care; the long-term route is to become a Certified Care Worker (kaigo fukushishi), which leads to the separate Nursing Care residence status with no renewal limit. Second, you must be employed directly by the care provider, not through a dispatch agency. Rules on home-visit care have been revised in recent years with extra conditions for employers, so check the current position on ssw.go.jp before assuming a home-visit role is possible.

A practical tip: ask each facility how it will help you prepare for the Certified Care Worker exam, since that is what turns a time-limited SSW job into a lasting career. Ask too about night shifts, how many staff work each shift, and whether care records are handwritten or on a tablet in Japanese. Changing to another care employer requires a new change-of-status permission before you start, so do not begin work early.