PHL Donates $1 M for Reconstruction of Japan City Hall

President Aquino traveled by bullet train and car for more than three hours to get to this northeastern city from Tokyo and personally hand over the Philippines’ $1-million donation for the reconstruction of the local city hall destroyed by earthquake and tsunami last March.

The President, members of his delegation, and media had to take the bullet train for one hour and 41 minutes and travel another hour and 30 minutes by car to get here and the Kadonowaki district, which were damaged by the tsunami along with Ayukawa district.
Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama welcomed the President and received the Philippine government’s donation along with other local officials in their temporary offices in a local mall.

Aquino was the first head of state to have gone to Ishinomaki since most of those who came earlier to express their solidarity with this country went to Sendai City.

The President offered a wreath in front of the Kadonowaki Elementary School where many students perished during the earthquake and tsunami. The mayor accompanied Aquino and briefed him about the disaster.

It is in this city where traces of the devastation are still evident unlike in Sendai City, which has apparently recovered.

Continue reading at Philippine Star

Aquino to Visit Tsunami-hit Area in Japan Trip

President Aquino is putting a sentimental touch on his official working visit here by visiting Sendai, the place worst hit by the tsunami following the powerful earthquake rocked this country last March.

Aquino arrives here today on the first day of his visit and tomorrow, he will make time to visit residents who are currently taking refuge at an evacuation center in Ishinomaki City at Miyagi Prefecture.

Aquino will also attend a gathering of the Filipino community there and have a brief meeting with Miyagi Prefecture and city officials.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Maria Theresa Lazaro said Aquino would be bringing a “gift” for the people of Japan.

Sendai is the capital of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tohoku region.

In his interview with Japanese media in Manila as a prelude for this visit, Aquino said he would like to visit the Filipinos who were affected by the tragedies and “demonstrate solidarity with the Japanese people.”

“There is also another package of assistance, the exact form is still being handled by the (Philippine) embassy, it’s something we decided to give. There’s an amount that we have set aside that is quite substantial by our standards but not too substantial as far as Japan is concerned, but basically it’s a significant indication of the expression of our solidarity with the Japanese people,” Aquino said.

Continue reading at Philippine Star

284 Pinoy Nurses Leave for Japan

The first batch of 284 nurses and caregivers hired under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) leave for Japan on Sunday, Labor Undersecretary Luzviminda Padilla said yesterday.

Several months ago, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services for the recruitment of 1,000 Filipino nurses and caregivers for the next two years. Under the agreement, an initial batch of 200 nurses and 300 caregivers will be recruited to work in hospitals and health institutions in Japan.

The Philippine government aims to have more nurses and caregivers deployed to Japan but hiring is expected to be slow because the prevailing global financial crisis forces health institutions in Japan to stop hiring new workers.

Labor officials said the Japanese government will assess the performance of the first batch deployed after which they will decide if they will hire more Filipino medical workers.

The new hires will undergo a six-month language and culture training, during which they will receive an allowance of 40,000 yen equivalent to P21,000 per month. They will be allowed to stay in Japan for three years, during which they will be allowed to take the licensure examination to become a full-fledged nurse. They will then have the option to stay for an unlimited period in the country to practice their profession based on an upgraded contract with their employer.

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500 Jobs in Japan for Philippine Nurses

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said that Japan is in need of 500 nurses from the Philippines.

The proposed deployment is under the current Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). Successful nurses will initially work as assistants and can be fully recognized as registered nurses after they pass the local licensure exams. They are expected to earn ¥200,000 or P200,000 as nursing assistants.

POEA will screen job applicants starting in November.

Job requirements for applicants are the following:

Graduate of Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Passed the board exam in the Philippines
Has 3 years work experience in a hospital
Physically and mentally fit
Qualified nurses can file their applications online at www.poea.gov.ph or www.eregister.poea.gov.ph.

Filipino Seafarers Benefit From Japanese Navy’s Anti-piracy Operations

Filipino seafarers have benefited the most from Japan’s anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden that began two years ago, involving naval escort of both Japanese and foreign vessels, the Japanese Embassy said Thursday.


Since the commencement of the escort operations by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers in July 2009, 14,315 Filipino seafarers have been protected from piracy, the statement said.

They represent more than 31 percent of the total ships’ crew of various nationalities on 1,943 vessels that were escorted by Japanese warships from July 28, 2009, until July 31, 2011.

“Filipino seafarers are by far the biggest beneficiaries of this escort operation in terms of the nationality of the crew,” the embassy statement said, quoting an official report from Tokyo.

Japan’s operation also involves flights by P-3C patrol aircraft, which are used to visually confirm commercial ships and to provide information to Japanese destroyers, foreign warships, and commercial ships.

After Filipinos, nationals from India, China, Ukraine, Turkey and Russia, among many others, were also protected by the Japanese operations.

Continue reading at Mainichi Daily News