外国人看護師 日本語を非関税障壁にするな

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 10, 2011)
Don't let Japanese be 'nontariff barrier'
外国人看護師　日本語を非関税障壁にするな（2月9日付・読売社説）

Sending foreign nationals back to their home countries immediately if they fail to pass this nation's nursing certification test can only be considered as an excessively rule-obsessed approach.
　「試験に不合格なら、すみやかに帰国を」という対応は、杓(しゃく)子(し)定規に過ぎよう。

About 420 Indonesians and Filipinos--all of whom arrived in Japan to obtain nursing licenses in this country under economic partnership agreements--are set to take our nurse licensing exam in late February.
　経済連携協定（ＥＰＡ）に基づいてインドネシアとフィリピンから受け入れた約４２０人の看護師希望者が、今月下旬、看護師試験を受験する。

They are all licensed nurses in their own countries. If they want to work as nurses in Japan, however, they must pass the government-sanctioned examination during their three-year stay here.
　全員が母国で看護師資格を持っているが、日本で働くためには３年の在留期間中に日本の国家試験に合格しなければならない。

No foreign nurse passed the test in 2009, the first year they took the exam. In the second year, only three nurses passed the exam, meaning the proportion of successful non-Japanese applicants stood around the 1 percent range. This figure is in stark contrast to the success rate of about 90 percent among Japanese applicants.
　ところが、１年目は合格者がゼロで２年目は３人、率にして１％台だった。日本人の合格率約９０％と比べると落差が大き過ぎる。

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has at last taken action to rectify the situation. The move comes in response to accusations that Indonesian and Philippine applicants for the test have been greatly handicapped by their difficulties in understanding the Japanese language--particularly kanji--used in the exam.
　日本語、特に漢字の判読が大きなハンデになっているためだ、との批判を受けて、厚生労働省もようやく重い腰を上げた。

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Halfhearted measures

Last summer, the ministry put together a plan to improve the method for setting questions in the national test. Corrective steps included writing both the Japanese name of a disease and its corresponding English name, as well as placing kana alongside difficult kanji.
昨年夏、日本語の病名に英語を併記し、難解な漢字にはルビを振るといった試験問題の改善を図った。

However, it was concluded that the use of kana readings would not cover technical terms in medical and nursing care. The ministry also decided not to replace technical terms with easier-to-understand language--for instance, describing "jokuso" (decubitus ulcer) as "tokozure" (bedsore) and "gyogai" (supine position) as "aomuke" (lying on one's back).
　ただ、医療・看護の専門用語はルビの対象外で、「褥瘡(じょくそう)」は床ずれ、「仰(ぎょう)臥(が)位(い)」はあおむけと表記するといった平易な表現への言い換えも見送られた。

The ministry's seemingly halfhearted approach apparently was a nod to the Japan Nursing Association's negative stance toward greatly revising the method of examination. The association has been alarmed by an anticipated reduction in employment opportunities for Japanese nurses due to a possible increase in the number of foreign nurses in this country under the EPA pacts.
　日本人看護師の雇用機会が奪われることを警戒する日本看護協会が、大幅な見直しに消極的なのが一因という。

This state of affairs is sure to prevent a sharp rise in the percentage of successful non-Japanese applicants for the test. We believe the method for setting questions must be further improved.
これでは合格率が飛躍的に向上するはずがない。試験問題はさらなる改善が必要だ。

Examinees for the upcoming test include about 90 Indonesians and Filipinos sitting the annual exam for the third time. If they fail to pass, they will have to return home.
　今回の受験者のうち約９０人は、これが３度目の受験となり、合格しないと帰国せざるを得ない。

We find it unreasonable that the government should order these nurses to leave Japan if they fail to take their "final chances"--without examining whether measures adopted to correct the method of examination are sufficient. The length of their permitted stay in Japan should be extended so they could sit the national test next year and beyond.
　試験問題の見直しが十分かどうか検証しないまま「これで最後」という扱いでよいのか。在留期間を延長して、来年以降も受験可能にすべきだろう。

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Ties could be affected

The system for accepting Indonesians and Filipinos under the EPA programs also covers those hoping to be licensed as providers of nursing care for elderly and disabled people in this country. They are permitted to stay in Japan for four years during which they must acquire three years of work experience at relevant facilities before taking this country's nursing care licensing exam. This means they have only one chance to take the annual test.
　インドネシア、フィリピンとのＥＰＡに基づく受け入れは、介護福祉士も対象だ。こちらは４年の在留期間を与えているが、介護福祉士試験は３年の実務経験を受験資格に課しているため、実際の受験機会はたった１度しかない。

We think the length of their stay also needs to be extended to give them several opportunities to take the test.
　彼らにも在留期間の延長を認めて、複数回の受験機会を確保する必要がある。

Nevertheless, reconsidering the method of examination and extending the permitted duration of stay are mere stopgap measures.
　試験問題の見直しや在留期間延長は、基本的には弥縫(びほう)策だ。

Indonesia and the Philippines may feel the extremely low success rate of their applicants for the nurse certification exam symbolizes what many see as Japan's self-centeredness. To them, Japan may appear to be using its own language in the exam as a "nontariff barrier" to the employment of foreign nurses and others, despite selling a large volume of products to their countries under the economic partnership agreements.
　インドネシアやフィリピンにすれば、極端な合格率の低さは、ＥＰＡで製品をどんどん売り込みながら、看護師らの受け入れは、日本語という“非関税障壁”でブロックしている「日本の身勝手さの象徴」と映るのではないか。

The status quo could develop into diplomatic disputes with Indonesia and the Philippines.
　このままでは両国との外交摩擦に発展しかねない。

We hope Prime Minister Naoto Kan will take the initiative in considering ways to fundamentally correct the situation.
菅首相には、政治主導で抜本的な是正策の検討を進めてもらいたい。

Failure to do so would disgrace his avowed effort to "reopen the nation in the Heisei era."
　それなしでは「平成の開国」の看板が泣くというものだろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 9, 2011)
（2011年2月9日01時29分 読売新聞）