Opening Ceremony
Preparatory Japanese-Language Training
for the Filipino Candidates of Nurses and Certified Care Workers
under the 13th EPA Program
for t
The 13th Preparatory Japanese-Language Training for the Filipino Candidates Nurses and Certified Care Workers under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) began last 3 March 2021 in opening ceremonies held online. 239 provisional candidates were accepted under the Program out of which 14 were nurses and 225 were certified care workers. The JPEPA requires all candidates to undergo a 6-month intensive training on Japanese language basics, which for the first time will be conducted online.
During the virtual opening ceremony held last March 3, 2021, Mr. Tsutomu “Ben” Suzuki, Director of The Japan Foundation, Manila stressed that the objectives of the training are: (1) to gain basic knowledge and usage of Japanese Language; (2) to acquire vocabularies and learn expressions used in nursing and care-giving; (3) to learn about general life culture of Japan. The program also aims to acquire the habit of self-training to enhance their study of the Japanese Language. Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko of Japan, Atty. Bernard Olalia – Administrator, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Mr. Philip Sanvictores, President of Nihongo Center Foundation, Inc. delivered inspirational messages.
Mr. Sanvictores imparted some insights to the candidate-trainees: “Nihongo will be your key to a fulfilling and productive stay in Japan. Language will be the foundation underneath heart-to-heart relationships which in essence defines the true meaning behind Philippines-Japan relations. Learning Nihongo will require hard work, concentration, seriousness, even passion. Acquiring fluency in Japanese – and any foreign language for that matter – will take much time.”
The trainees’ pre-deployment Nihongo training in the Philippines will continue for another six months upon their arrival in Japan, before they are assigned to their respective hospitals and caregiving institutions there.
Resources:
Speech of Amb. Kazuhiko Koshikawa
Speech of Atty. Bernard Olalia
Speech of Mr. Philip b. Sanvictores