and creative in presenting their skills. Japan has accepted over 1,000 Filipino nurses and caregivers under the pro gramme since its launch in 2009, three years after the two countries forged the Japan-Philippines Economic Partner- ship Agreement. Official data show that more than 250 Filipinos have passed the Japanese licens- ing exams and most of them are currently working in Japan. Ruby Pink Abriol, 31, who passed the Japanese exam for nurses in 2014, said she had zero knowledge of the Japanese lan guage when she joined the third batch of applicants in 2011.