A total of 211 Filipino nurse and certified careworker candidates are set to leave for Japan this month under the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), following a send-off ceremony held on 5 June.

Japanese Minister for Economic Affairs Yokota Naobumi attended the ceremony hosted by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), where he highlighted the program's role in strengthening bilateral ties as Japan and the Philippines celebrate 70 years of friendship this year.

Yokota described the EPA as a landmark economic cooperation initiative, noting that the nurse and certified careworker program, now in its 18th year, has become an important pillar of relations between the two countries.

DMW Secretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac conveyed his message of support through a recorded video, while DMW Undersecretary Felicitas Q. Bay and Japan Foundation Manila Director Suzuki Ben also encouraged the departing candidates.

The latest batch consists of 17 nurse candidates and 194 certified careworker candidates. They recently completed six months of preparatory Japanese language training in the Philippines and will undergo another six months of language training in Japan before beginning assignments in hospitals and caregiving facilities.

The language programs are provided free of charge and include daily living allowances. Participants are also deployed to institutions that offer training designed to help them obtain Japanese national licenses in their respective professions.

The candidates were hired through a government-to-government arrangement facilitated by the DMW and the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services as part of the EPA signed in 2006. Since the first deployment in 2009, more than 4,000 Filipino nurse and certified careworker candidates have participated in the program.