into Japan’s healthcare labor shortages, I found that the shortage of nurses is also severe, in addition to that of physicians. In fact, the former has become an even more critical issue in the current healthcare system. Moreover, it is also true that the shortage of nursing professionals is not unique to Japan, and similar trends have been observed in Canada, suggesting that this is a common challenge shared by both countries. Based on these findings, this paper will compare the current nursing shortage situation in Japan and Canada, discussing the challenges and solutions proposed in each country to address the issue.Figure 1: Jobs-to-applicants ratio (Regular Employees Including Part-Time)Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “The Situation Regarding the Securing of Nursing Personnel” (September 1, 2023) (translated by author) On the other hand, the turnover rate among nurses is not particularly high compared with other professions. According to the “Overview of the 2023 Employment Trends Survey” by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan’s overall employee turnover rate in 2022 was 15.4%. In contrast, the “2023 Hospital Nursing Survey” by the Japan Nursing Association reported that the turnover rate for full-time nurses was 11.8%, and 10.2% among newly hired nurses in the same year. This indicates that the turnover rate among nurses is lower than the national average across all occupations. However, considering the persistently high jobs-to-applicants ratio in the same period, it can be inferred that recruiting new personnel is difficult and that the shortage is exacerbated by the inability to replace those who leave the profession. In recent years, labor shortages have become one of the most serious challenges in the Japanese medical and welfare industries. According to the “Future Labor Market Projections for 2030” published by Persol Research And Consulting Co., Ltd., the medical and welfare sectors in Japan are expected to face a shortage of approximately 1.87 million workers by 2030. This situation has been frequently reported in the media, such as in newspapers and online news outlets. For instance, an article published by The Tokyo Shimbun in July 2025 reported a worsening shortage of physicians in the field of cardiovascular medicine. However, after conducting further research In Japan, the demand for medical services continues to increase due to the aging population, while the shortage of healthcare workers remains a serious problem, particularly among nurses. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s report, “The Situation Regarding the Securing of Nursing Personnel”, the jobs-to-applicants ratio for nurses and assistant nurses was 2.2 in 2022, remaining above 2.0 from 2018 to 2022. Generally, when this ratio exceeds 1.0, it indicates that job openings surpass the number of applicants, suggesting difficulty in securing workers. The ratio of nurses and assistant nurses has consistently been above 2.0 over several years, indicating a chronic shortage of nursing personnel. Furthermore, given that the overall jobs-to-applicants ratio across all occupations during the same period remained below 1.5, it is evident that the shortage of nurses in Japan is particularly severe.Lily OkunoyaIntroductionThe Current Situation and Challenges of the Nursing Shortage in Japan University of British Columbia, Canada12Nursing Shortages in Japan and Canada: Current Challenges and Efforts for Improvement
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