Labor Undersecretary for Employment Danilo Cruz said minor issues are being "ironed out" in negotiations for the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership agreement.
"Deployment of nurses and caregivers to Japan can start next year if we could forge an agreement in August," he said.
"The only issue that remains unsettled is the number of health workers to be hired because the Japanese government wants to have a quota, but we want the market to dictate the number."
Cruz said the government is hopeful that Japan would allow the entry of an unlimited number of Filipino nurses and caregivers despite a lobby by Japanese nursing associations against the hiring of foreign medical workers.
Japan has offered to train Filipino nurses and caregivers hired in that country for free until the Philippines has set up its own training center, he added. — Mayen Jaymalin