MINOKAMO, Gifu Prefecture—To solve a labor shortage and improve communication with its diverse patients, a hospital in Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture, has focused on hiring local residents with international backgrounds.

Foreign residents make up more than 10 percent of Minokamo’s population, one of the highest ratios of foreign residents in Japan.

This also means there are many foreign patients at the local hospital, the Central Japan International Medical Center, and personnel from abroad have become indispensable.

Based on statistics on foreign residents as of June 2023 and prefectural population estimates, Minokamo has the highest percentage of foreign residents in the prefecture, at more than 10 percent of the total population.

By nationality, Filipinos and Brazilians account for 80 percent of these foreign residents.

The percentage of permanent residents who have no restrictions on length of stay or field of employment is also high at 47 percent. Many of them have settled in the area.

Yamabe Binda Kuniwaki Leticia, 35, is a Japanese-Brazilian who works as a nursing assistant at the medical center.

Kuniwaki came to Japan when she was 9. She now lives with her husband and two daughters in the city.

She was hired by the medical center in October 2023. After a probationary period, she became a regular employee in April this year.

Kuniwaki helps hospitalized patients use the restroom and perform other tasks. She also works the night shift.

“I thought the only option for Brazilians was a factory job. I never thought that I could work in a hospital,” she said. “I was nervous, but I like helping people, so I am happy to be able to work here.”

The center started hiring nursing assistants when COVID-19 vaccinations started being offered.

During the pandemic, the center staff discussed how to promote vaccinations for foreign residents. That connected the staff with local nonprofit organizations that support foreign residents.

Around spring 2023, the possibility of hiring additional staff became a topic of conversation.

Nursing assistants do not require a license, but it had been difficult for the center to find workers for these positions. Recruiting foreign-born local residents turned out to be a win-win situation.

To solve the manpower shortage, the center decided to hire four locals, including Kuniwaki.

Yukiyo Horita, who heads the center’s nursing division, said that some of the new hires have children attending local schools or are well-established in the local community and can communicate well with other staff members.

“I hope they will take root and become the ones to train the next generation of staff,” she said.

The center has been actively recruiting personnel with international backgrounds, such as medical interpreters and Filipino nurses who came to Japan under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) system.

About 18,000 foreign outpatients visit the center each year for childbirth or illness. Many of them do not speak Japanese well.

The center currently employs 21 people from five countries. These staff members can communicate with patients in their native languages, which helps reassure patients.

Their presence also helps bridge cultural differences, center officials said.

Ako Yamada, 44, from China, has been working at the center as a medical interpreter.

She used to work for an organization that supports Chinese residents in Japan.

Yamada became interested in becoming a medical interpreter after seeing many people who couldn’t explain their symptoms well or didn’t understand what kind of treatment they were receiving.

“Interpreters are not only mediators of language but also of medical culture,” she said.

For example, when it comes to cancer notification, Yamada explained, “In China, there are many cases where the patient is not notified.”

In the case of childbirth, she said, “In China, cesarean sections are the norm.”

Yamada can explain this background information to doctors in the process of medical examinations and other procedures.

The center has become the only medical institution in the prefecture to be certified under the Japan Medical Service Accreditation for International Patients (JMIP) offered through the Japan Medical Education Foundation. 

This certification recognizes the center's efforts and serving as a role model for other medical institutions.

A person in charge of the center’s human resources division said, “Staff who can understand patients’ backgrounds and lives are valuable. We hope to further expand our recruitment in the future.”