13:59 JST, October 27, 2026

Securing enough nurses is becoming a problem for many medical institutions. In some cases, facilities have been forced to turn away patients due to a shortage of nurses. Urgent measures must be taken to prevent these life-threatening situations.

Since this spring, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has been discussing steps to secure enough nurses at an expert panel. Although the number of nurses employed is currently on the rise, the job-to-applicant ratio exceeds 2 to 1, and the shortage is keenly felt at hospitals and other frontline institutions.

It appears that the rapid aging of the population is driving up demand for nursing care and hospitals are unable to secure enough nurses.

A number of vocational nursing schools have closed or suspended new enrollment across........

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