MANILA, Philippines – Japan will soon hire almost 8,500 Filipino domestic helpers as the Philippines and Japan recently iron out the necessary bilateral agreements. This is one of the major bilateral deals both governments agreed on the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) summit held in Manila. Pres. Benigno Aquino and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stated their commitment for this bilateral deal which will benefit both nations.
“We will be hiring around 8,500 Filipino domestic helpers within a 3 year time frame, Japanese citizens are fast aging and most of our aging citizens are left out alone on Japanese homes”. Japanese press secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura said in an interview.
“We requested on the side of Philippines that they also prepare necessary system so that it will be smoothly implemented,” Kawamura added.
Filipino domestic helpers will be accepted initially on Osaka and Kanagawa prefectures. Requirements for interested applicants must comply a 6 month TESDA training in housekeeping and they also need to learn the Japanese language. The Philippine government will sponsor a Nihongo class for Filipinos who will be hired.
Filipino housekeepers in Japan will be expected to be stay-out workers. Their salary will be around $1,530 or around P72,000 every month, which is equal to the Japanese minimum wage. On top of this, domestic helpers will also receive benefits.