Jakarta:  Rizka Putri Yulianti was accustomed to caring for the elderly because it was part of Indonesian culture, but when she decided to work as a carer, she encountered a foreign culture that she had to get to know.

The 23-year-old has already spent months studying Japanese at a nursing school in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, where she has also learned how to read, write, and speak the language as well as recognise and follow its distinctive customs.

According to Yulianti, who spoke to Arab News, "I have been training to get accustomed with Japanese culture, which means getting used to greeting others routinely, maintaining cleanliness, and also to be more disciplined."

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She is one of about 70 students at Onodera User Run, a vocational school that assists Indonesians looking for work in Japan, the nation with the highest percentage of citizens 65 and older.

Japan is facing a labour shortage because it has a population that is nearly one-third elderly. A survey conducted by the Tokyo-based research firm Teikoku Databank last year revealed that more than half of Japanese businesses were experiencing a full-time labour shortage.

In contrast, Indonesia has a much younger population, with more than half of its 270 million inhabitants belonging to the millennial and Gen Z generations.

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Indonesia has a sizable young workforce that is renowned for being diligent, polite, and courteous, according to Yulianti.

"Young Indonesian workers are capable of caring for the elderly."

With the introduction of a new visa programme for "specified skilled workers," foreign nationals now have easier access to employment in Japan in industries like food service, agriculture, and nursing care.

According to Hiroki Sasaki, labour attache at the Japanese embassy in Jakarta, only about 130,000 of the more than 340,000 job openings created by the programme have been filled thus far, mostly by Vietnamese and Indonesians.

According to Sasaki, "We'd like more and more young Indonesians to be interested in Japan and considering working there." "Japanese society needs more young power from Indonesia."

The Japanese market offers young Indonesians a chance to leave their country's unemployment behind. Although the overall unemployment rate in Indonesia is less than 6%, a third of the unemployed are between the ages of 20 and 24.

Working in Japan offers the possibility of a better future because of how highly Indonesians regard its development.

Andini Fadiyah Putri, 21, who attends Onodera User Run in Jakarta alongside Yulianti, said, "This might be my chance to have a career in Japan."

She enrolled in the programme in October, and she is currently awaiting the exams that will determine whether she is qualified for employment in the nation of East Asia.

After I finished the Japanese curriculum, we were taught practical and theoretical caregiving skills, including how to feed and bathe elderly people, she said.

To be able to envision what my future might hold has been extremely beneficial.

As part of the Japanese government's foreign employment programme, Onodera User Run also has branches in Cambodia and Vietnam that provide language instruction as well as training in industries like caregiving and food processing.

For the principal of the school, Kamila Mansjur, Indonesian workers are particularly well suited for caregiving.

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Indonesians are renowned for their hospitality and good manners, but she added that taking care of the elderly required hard work.

"We hope that our programme will have a positive effect on both countries, enabling Japan to meet its need for foreign workers while lowering the unemployment rate in Indonesia."