The Japanese Nursing Association is doing more harm than good to the nation's health care as it steadfastly puts up barriers to nurses and care workers from other countries wishing to work in Japan. What's worse, the association is supported by the health ministry.

Japan and other industrially advanced countries today face an acute shortage of nurses and care workers. While most of these countries are endeavoring to "import" qualified medical staff from newly emerging nations, Japan is closing its doors to such workers from abroad.

The government has long failed to work out strategic immigration policies, and JNA, which represents most nurses in the country, thinks it's more important to protect the jobs of its members than to promote the health of the nation's residents.