3 people from Indonesia and the Philippines have passed Japan's nursing qualification exam.
They became the first foreign nurses to do so after coming to Japan under the Economic Partnership Agreement, or EPA.
370 such nurses are working at Japanese hospitals as they study to qualify.
The Labor and Welfare Ministry says 254 of them sat the test for the current fiscal year.
The ministry says 2 Indonesians working in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, passed the exam after arriving in the country 2 years ago.
The Filipino who passed came last year and is working in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo.
The overall pass rate for this year's exam was about 90 percent, but the ratio of successful applicants among foreign nurses working under the EPA was only 1 percent.
These people must pass the test within 3 years to continue working in Japan. But analysts say the complex Chinese characters used for specialized terms obstruct foreign applicants from passing the test.
About 100 Indonesian nurses who came to Japan 2 years ago as part of the first intake will have to return home if they fail the exam next year. The Japanese government plans to help them learn the language.
One of the successful Indonesian nurses said he studied hard and is very happy to pass. He expressed thanks for the help he received in realizing his dream of working in Japan. He also called for the test to be given in plain Japanese for foreign applicants.
The other Indonesian nurse who passed called for an extension of the period of stay permitted for foreign nurses.
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