OVP: Japan offering more jobs to Filipinos

The Japanese government, along with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is offering more jobs to Filipino nurses and skilled workers, the Office of the Vice President said.

In a courtesy call on Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, Japanese Minister for Health, Labour, and Welfare Katsunobu Kato revealed that 54.7% of Filipino caregivers who took the examination for Japan in March were able to pass, marking the highest recorded for Filipino examinees in the past 10 years.

He said those who were not able to pass the caregivers’ examination could stay longer in Japan and would be given a chance to retake the exam.

Kato also said they also need more Filipino nurses to work in Japan under the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA).

The Japanese delegation also relayed to the Vice President their demand for skilled workers for construction and industrial waste treatment.

Boosting education and economic ties

The OVP said the Japanese delegation also expressed interest in strengthening education and economic cooperation between Japan and the Philippines.

JICA Representative Sakamoto Takema, meanwhile, bared the programs and projects that Japan wishes to extend to the country, which include training for the Philippine education sector's development this year.

"This year we succeeded to convince Tokyo to give more courses and seats for your DepEd (Department of Education) officials and teachers," Takema told Duterte, who also sits as the concurrent Education secretary.

He also said JICA is keen to promote public-private partnerships to encourage Japanese stakeholders to visit the Philippines, address development challenges, and explore future investments.

Takema also discussed the possible teaching of disaster education to elementary schoolchildren in partnership with the local government units, the recruitment of JICA volunteers to teach Filipino children, and the technical education training program scheduled for August or September.

Duterte, in another meeting with Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Women Empowerment Mori Masako, presented an update on the education trend of "women learners outperforming male learners."

"This is not really a good thing, but in terms of women empowerment, it shows that our female learners are doing well," Duterte said. —VAL, GMA Integrated News