PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINO/ NOV 19,2015
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe
蜜桃工作室 PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC
In a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Manila on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Aquino agreed on the hiring of Filipino domestic workers in the special economic zones in Japan鈥檚 Kanagawa and Osaka Prefectures.
鈥淎nother issue which Japan and the Philippines agreed on today is Japan鈥檚 (welcoming) household workers to Japanese economic zones,鈥� Yasuhisa Kawamura, Japan鈥檚 press secretary and Abe鈥檚 spokesperson told reporters.
The agreement, however, was still vague on the number of workers from the Philippines Japan would need.
鈥淚t depends on how many people are wanted on the Japanese side. Based on the need, we will have the appropriate number of workers,鈥� Kawamura said.
鈥淲ith Prime Minister Abe鈥檚 approval, the system to accept Filipino workers is almost [a done deal],鈥� Kawamura said.
The spokesperson said Japan wanted to begin hiring 鈥渂y the end of the year at the earliest.鈥�
鈥淎be requested from the side of the Philippines that the necessary preparations must be made so the agreement could be smoothly implemented,鈥� Kawamura said.