Abstract
The present study is a report on attitudes of elderly care facilities in Akita towards the acceptance of foreign care workers. Members of this research project conducted a similar survey in 2015, when the issue of foreign care workers was still not a realistic concern for many in Akita. However, in only a few years, the Japanese government introduced several new mechanisms for the acceptance of foreign care workers, including the application of the Technical Intern Training Program, which is more accessible for small and medium-sized facilities. With this changing environment, we conducted a new survey in 2020 focusing on facilities’ perception of Japanese language education and other support systems which may be essential on the successful acceptance of such workers. We find a critical gap in the resources and commitment of the facilities towards Japanese language education.
