Editorial: Place priority on pay to turn around caregiver shortfall

July 29 , 2021

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare recently reported that the caregiving field would need some 2.8 million workers by fiscal 2040, when Japan’s elderly population is expected to peak. According to the ministry, there were 2.11 million care professionals as of fiscal 2019. But fiscal 2023 is projected to suffer a shortfall of 220,000 workers, while by fiscal 2025, that figure will grow to 320,000.

The solution to the worker shortage is simple: improve their salary structure.

Caregiving work is widely viewed by the Japanese as strenuous in effort but sparse in pay; the occupation is marred by debilitating turnover as workers frequently leave for greener pastures at the first available opportunity. The government has been trying to address these issues not only with higher remuneration—boosting average monthly salaries by some ¥75,000 over the past ten years—and by offering people with one-time bonuses of up to ¥400,000 for people with previous caregiver experience.

Still, further steps need to be taken. State-run placement centers and regional social services agencies should improve their public information strategies in order to reach a broader audience. Meanwhile, the government should extend additional assistance and incentives to caregiving service operators to raise salaries at least to competitive levels. It must also take the lead in advancing and promoting such technologies as caregiver robotics to alleviate the labor burden and improve overall operational efficiency of service providers.

Equally important, the government should ease restrictions placed on foreign workers as the general population continues its contraction.