English: An osteoporotic elderly women in Japan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is an excellent, must-read, editorial article from the Japan Times.
via Shortage of nursing care workers | The Japan Times.
So far Japan has not faced up to massive shortage of nursing care workers needed to look after its rapidly aging population.
Expect the global market for nurses to be influenced by massive additional demand from Japan. This will cause knock-on problems for countries with weak healthcare systems, like the UK.
Thoughts?
Dr Alf's Blog 
In answer to Dr Alf’s question the Japanese will have to attack the problem in 3 ways:
1) Demand management, involving preventative healthcare and the use of robotic ekoskeletons and parts to ensure a greater range of movement and less need for nursing – reducing the environmental factors that cause dementia, depression and mental illness thus creating less need for nurses.
2) Bringing in foreign nurses, as the UK’s NHS and the US healthcare system, do.
3) Paying nurses more money and training more of their own