We are trying to analyze the features of the Japanese nurses so far dispatched to the developing nations by the Japanese governmental organization as a part of its technical cooperation for the period of one year or more during 30 years between April 1966 and March 1996 in this paper.
899 volunteer nurses and 120 expert nurses were dispatched. 29.5% of volunteer nurses were engaged in Africa, while only 2.5% of expert nurses were. The striking difference in volunteer-to-expert ration between Africa and Asia is due to the different regional needs and volunteer nurses are wanted as manpower in Africa. The most recent decade showed remarkable increase in the percentage of nurses working in the community against the previous period. It is necessary to reinforce their training so that those nurses have sufficient knowledge in community care and primary health care.