Tokyo - Indonesian nurses and care-givers planning to train and pursue a career in Japan said Friday they hoped to break down barriers of prejudice for more of their compatriots follow.

"As a group of pioneers (in this project), we are hoping to gradually change Japan's mindset so that more of our counterparts can be easily accepted to work here for a long term," Erli Ridwan, 35, said at a press conference at Tokyo's Japan Press Centre Friday.

Ridwan arrived in Japan Thursday, along with 204 other Indonesian nurses and care-givers to start working in Japan's medical sector.

The programme was designed under a bilateral economic partnership agreement, which took effect July 1, mainly to compensate medical personnel shortages in Japan.

"If it were not for Japan's ageing society, Indonesia and Japan would not have been able to realize this project this year," Indonesia Ambassador to Japan H. Jusuf Anwar said.

Concerns spread, however, that the Japanese government is not prepared enough to accept Indonesian or other foreign workers for long-term stay partly because an influx of foreign workers would worsen labor conditions for Japanese nationals.

Some elderly Japanese have expressed concerns over a language issue as well as cultural and religious differences.

The Indonesian recruits were expected to take six-month language and culture training and begin work at 98 institutions across the nation from January or February next year.

Unless they pass the Japanese nursing qualification exam after three or four years of work, they are required to return to Indonesia.

"Personally, I would like them to work without any time restrictions," Anwar said. "But we must respect local regulations and requirements."

He added that the qualification exam may motivate the workers.

Ridwan, a Muslim who worked as a nurse for eight years in Jakarta, signed a contract with a Tokyo hospital as an assistant nurse. He would be receiving 152,500 yen (1,393 dollars) in Japan, instead of his monthly salary of 1.5 million rupiah (165 dollars), he said.

He applied for the job because he wanted to gain experiences and knowledge over Japan's progressive medical technology and education as well as learn from disciplinary and diligent work ethics. (dpa)