Thurs., May 29, 2025: Staff Seminar “The Impact of Foreign-born Care Worker Share on Regional Elderly Mortality Rate: Seven Years After Japan Introduced the Nursing Care Visa” (online) [finished]

We regularly hold Staff Seminars for research presentations and information exchange among our researchers. We look forward to your participation.

* This online seminar is free to attend, and the details are as follows:

Date and Time

Thursday, May 29, 2025 at 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm (JST)
*A question-and-answer session is scheduled at the end of the presentation.

Presenter

Xue Peng, Assistant Professor, AGI

Title

The Impact of Foreign-born Care Worker Share on Regional Elderly Mortality Rate: Seven Years After Japan Introduced the Nursing Care Visa

Abstract

Japan faces a critical shortage of care workers due to its rapidly aging population. To address this gap, the country has increasingly relied on foreign-born Certified Care Workers (CCWs) following the introduction of the Nursing Care visa in 2017. However, the impact of this policy on elderly health outcomes remains unclear. This study examines whether the share of foreign-born CCWs affects regional elderly mortality rates in Japan. Using prefecture-level panel data from 2017 to 2023 and fixed-effects models, we do not find significant association between the proportion of foreign-born CCWs and mortality rates among those aged 85 and above. This result may reflect either the current number of foreign-born workers remains too limited to influence the elderly health outcomes, or that their quality of care is comparable to that of native workers. Either way, the finding supports the continued use of immigration policies to address Japan’s care workforce shortage. This study contributes new empirical evidence from an Asian context, where research on this issue is still emerging.

Language

English presentation and material(s)

Researcher Biography

Dr. Peng obtained a bachelor’s degree in urban planning from Peking University and a doctoral degree from the Graduate School of Social System Studies at the University of Kitakyushu. She has 11 years of practical experience in urban planning in China. Currently, she serves as an Assistant Professor at the Asia Growth Research Institute and a Visiting Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Economics, Kyushu University. Her research focuses on international and domestic population mobility, tourism, urban and regional development, and urban planning, utilizing spatial and econometric analysis methods. She has published papers in international academic journals such as Humanities and Social Sciences Communications and Economic Analysis and Policy.