KUALA LUMPUR - Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare said on March 16 that 380 foreign candidates who came to Japan under Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) passed the 2025 national exam for certified care workers.

The figure marked a 24% decrease from 498 candidates in the previous year.

The pass rate stood at 31.8%, the lowest since foreign candidates under the EPA framework first began taking the exam in fiscal 2011.

By country, Indonesia recorded the highest number of successful candidates at 185, followed by Vietnam with 103 and the Philippines with 92.

A ministry official said the decline may be partly due to an increase in foreign workers employed in the care sector under other residency statuses, such as the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program.

Under the EPA framework, foreign candidates are accepted primarily for international cooperation and human resource development. 

They work in Japan while studying Japanese and professional knowledge, aiming to obtain national qualifications such as certified care worker status.

In contrast, the SSW program was introduced to address Japan’s severe labor shortages by accepting foreign nationals as immediate members of the workforce. 

The program covers a wide range of sectors, including care work, food services, and construction, and requires applicants to pass Japanese language and skills tests before entering Japan.

The number of foreign residents under the SSW status in the care sector has continued to grow since the program began in 2019. 

According to the ministry’s latest data, the figure reached a record high of about 44,000 as of the end of December 2024.