When accepting international talent, the most important considerations are respect for their religious beliefs and understanding toward people of other faiths.

For example, many people in Japan are Buddhist, and in daily life most of us rarely think much about Buddhism or let it shape our routines.

In other religions, however, there may be foods that cannot be eaten, or special days within a given month.

These practices are taken for granted in their home countries, but they are not the norm when living in Japan, and people may struggle to observe them or fail to gain understanding from those around them.

That is why the accepting facility must provide support.

Here we introduce basic facts about each religion and concrete steps facilities can take to show consideration.

Securing a prayer room

In Islam, it is customary to pray several times a day. These prayers are almost never skipped, so time for prayer must be set aside.

With globalization advancing, prayer rooms are now found on university campuses, at airports, and sometimes in companies, so they are no longer particularly unusual in modern society.

And although we call it a prayer room, it does not need to be the elaborate space many people imagine.

A room large enough for a few people to sit is fine, and nothing special is required for prayer,

so securing a space alone should be enough.

Online you will find prayer rooms with separate entrances for men and women or washbasins for ablution of the hands and feet, but there is no need to go that far. Overly elaborate facilities can create friction with Japanese staff, so a modest setup within a reasonable range is preferable.

Dietary restrictions by religion

● Islam

Pork and alcohol are prohibited. It is not enough simply to avoid serving pork; oil or other ingredients used when cooking pork also contain pork extracts and are therefore not allowed.

Alcohol includes not only alcoholic beverages but also sake and mirin, which often appear in Japanese cooking, and these are also not permitted.

● Hinduism

Cows are treated as sacred, so beef is never eaten. Some Hindus are also vegetarian to avoid taking life, so care is needed.

● Christianity

There are no special dietary restrictions as such, but Christianity has multiple denominations, and some encourage vegetarianism.

Meals at the facility

When dietary restrictions apply, what kind of consideration should a facility provide?

At the author’s facility, staff can also eat the same meals served to residents under a staff cafeteria arrangement for a few hundred yen per meal.

It is quite inexpensive and helpful, but it does not accommodate religious dietary restrictions. We considered this when a Muslim staff member joined, but the meals are primarily for residents, and staff cannot choose their own menus.

Even if staff have religious dietary restrictions, the residents are Buddhist and have no such restrictions, so they must not be drawn into the issue.

For that reason, we explain to Muslim staff that meals cannot be provided because they contain pork or alcohol, and ask them to prepare their own food.

Meals at various events also require attention.

For example, outings and trips take place several times a year. Some are day trips and others may involve overnight stays, and during that time staff eat the same meals as the residents. Hotels and similar venues may offer religion-compliant meals, but when that is difficult, you may need to consider canceling participation in the event itself.

In the author’s case, the following happened.

On an outing to a facility where barbecues were available, pork was a local specialty and was offered all-you-can-eat. Because a Muslim staff member could not eat it, the facility unilaterally prepared a special menu for that person.

Anything other than pork, however, incurred an extra charge, and residents were expected to pay it. Japanese staff raised objections such as “Why give special treatment to that extent?”, “If they cannot eat it, they simply should not have come,” and “Why should residents have to bear the cost when they are not eating it?” The issue escalated into a major problem involving residents’ family members.

Since then, we have largely refrained from having international staff join events where meals are provided.

Take them to restaurants serving their home cuisine

You will have seen that various forms of dietary consideration are needed for each religion. The same applies to gatherings such as drinking parties. Some of the places people casually suggest are completely off-limits, so taking international colleagues to restaurants that serve their home cuisine rather than Japanese food can be a great help for communication.

The author has Muslim friends as well. In cities, the ingredients and seasonings needed for Indian cooking are available, but not in rural areas, and without chances to meet people from the same background they can feel lonely.

By taking them to restaurants that serve Indian food and helping them connect with Indian staff working there, we were able to help them lead a more fulfilling life.

The author’s failure

The author’s facility also accepted staff from Indonesia, and one day a major failure occurred.

It was several months after they had joined. We had accepted two people, and both seemed low in energy from the morning. They put on a cheerful front in front of residents, but they were clearly down and discouraged.

When asked what was wrong, they said they were “fine.” Suspecting some trouble with Japanese staff, I looked into it and heard something concerning from Japanese colleagues.

They had been asked, “Isn’t prayer time fixed?” and “About once a day?”

What I knew was that prayer is performed five times a day: around 8 p.m., early morning, just after noon, around 3 p.m., and at sunset. Finding this odd, I watched their behavior for a day and saw that they were not praying at the prayer times and only did so after 4 p.m. in the evening.

Thinking this strange, I asked them about prayer and was stunned by what they shared.

They said, “Early morning is breakfast time, just after noon is lunchtime, and 3 p.m. is bath time—we are busy, and if we step away it causes trouble for others. Everyone is working, and we feel bad.” I was forced to realize how casually I had been handling my own responsibilities.

At the start of acceptance I had naively assumed that if we simply built a prayer room they would go pray whenever they liked, but I realized that this had become a burden for them.

I immediately informed all staff of the prayer times and adjusted schedules so that it would not be a problem when they stepped away.

When they found it hard to speak up, Japanese staff would prompt them to go pray, which allowed them to pray with peace of mind. We were able to see their cheerful selves again.

Summary

When accepting international nursing care workers, failing to understand each religion can easily lead to unnecessary trouble.

We Japanese do not live lives so bound by religion, so their precepts and rules can seem strange to us—but for international talent, those practices are simply normal.

Being unable to do what has always been ordinary is, I believe, quite painful.

We must broaden our understanding of each religion, discuss in advance what is needed and what difficulties may arise, and work to prevent trouble before it happens.