JJapan

85% of nurses in Japan’s Iwate Pref. want to quit as staff shortages push them to the limit

  • April 30, 2026

The Iwate prefectural federation of medical workers' unions conducted the poll on working conditions targeting about 3,000 nursing personnel in the prefecture in February both online and in writing. Nursing personnel included public health nurses, midwives, nurses and assistant nurses, and 997 people responded. Regarding the results, the federation says nursing staff are at their physical and mental limits because of labor shortages and is calling for improvements in their working conditions, including staff increases and wage hikes.

by SkyInJapan

12 comments

  1. They can’t raise the wages, otherwise the 院長 and doctors will not get enough money for golfing and hostess bar…

  2. Japan doesn’t care if people die… Why would they care for these staff shortages?

  3. I’ve seen part-time nurse positions (not nursing assistant) for 1,300 yen an hour – so…yeah, not exactly the kind of money to martyr yourself for.

    Nurse to patient ratios are far higher in Asia compared to the west, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be consistently short staffed.

    Industry morale is generally low with the working conditions, patient/patient family abuse, low wages and poor work-life balance. The shift system is absolutely brutal, with night shift being over 14 hours on average.

    Source: Wife is the lead doctor on a trauma unit with high rate of burnout among the nurses. Also have a sister in law who is a pediatric nurse.

  5. They will lower the language and skill requirements, and start bringing in people from South East Asia to fill the gap.

  6. This is not a Japanese problem.
    We got the same problem in Sweden and the politicains are scratching their heads like monkeys. Anything but raising the wages seems to be an option.

  8. Do we need more Bay Area development with golf courses that are eerily unpopulated? Or can the government already raise salaries of the front line primary medical employees

  9. Maybe they should do a poll on X asking all anti-immigrant locals and foreigners to offer suggestions?

  11. I predict very little will change, and in about 10 years, there´ll be endless news reports about the elderly dying in care homes and hospitals because nobody is there to care for them anymore.

  12. Meanwhile, Japan is focused on scaring away every qualified foreign worker willing and able to help. 知らんけど

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