Regarding the Feb. 16 editorial "More foreigners working in Japan": It is true that foreign workers bring their languages and cultures with them into Japan. They provide a valuable chance for us to learn new languages and cultures as well as how to live together with people from totally different backgrounds. We should not look at them as merely short-term workers. We should see them as coworkers/partners in shaping the future of our country and community. Japan cannot exist alone, today or tomorrow.
When I met some doctors at a large hospital, I asked if there was a ward for patients from abroad and if it was going well. The answer was "yes" but that the hospital had to hire English-speaking doctors and nurses.
So, how about allocating nurses arriving from Indonesia and the Philippines to these international wards? I understand that few of them can pass a difficult test in Japanese to continue working as nurses but that almost all of them pass the exam if it is done in English. Isn't this a way to internationalize hospitals?
I do hope that the government has a clear vision for foreign workers in Japan and that citizens of communities strive for a peaceful coexistence with them. Thanks to the contributions of foreigners, we will be able to keep up our living standard as we shape our future.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.