A group of trainee caregivers from Indonesia and the Philippines are taking Japan's tough national qualification exam for the first time.

A total of 96 trainees sat the test on Sunday after completing the minimum three-year training requirement at nursing care facilities in Japan.

More than 780 caregiver candidates have arrived during the past 4 years under Japan's economic partnership agreements with the 2 nations.

At a test site in Tokyo, 13 Indonesians answered questions about nursing skills and technical knowledge.

One 27-year-old applicant said before the test that she would do her best even though the test in Japanese is very difficult.

The health ministry has provided help by adding hiragana alphabet or English equivalents for technical terms written in Chinese characters.

Trainee nurses from the 2 nations have already taken the national qualification examination in the past few years. But the pass rate was only 2.6 percent.

Under the agreements, caregivers must pass the national exam within 4 years. Half of all Japanese applicants fail the test.

The government has decided to extend the training period by one year for trainee caregivers who exceed a certain score in their first exam.

The first group will take practical skill tests before the results are announced on March 28th.

News credit: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120129_16.html

Image credit: http://www.northerncalifornia.va.gov/images/caregiver_lg.jpg