Abstract
Applying the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA), the present study has attempted to reveal how Japanese Latin Americans who were engaged in unskilled labor in the manufacturing industry and who did not understand Japanese at all or almost at all when they came to Japan, have been advancing into stable employment as caregivers in Japan. The results elucidated the process in which such workers’ determination to permanent or long-term residence in Japan and their experience as non-regular unskilled laborer in the manufacturing industry prompted them to be a caregiver. Moreover, by interacting with various people these workers have acquired the ability to work as a caregiver and successfully overcome the risk of being unemployed. In this process, a synergistic effect was observed between learning Japanese and working as a caregiver. Furthermore, the study shows that since the main way of learning Japanese for these workers is to write down and memorize what they hear in Japanese, they have difficulties in Japanese reading and writing comprehension, which hinders their career advancement even if they have been working as caregivers for a long period.
