Unlike Western countries, Asian countries have a brief history of caring for patients with various cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Healthcare professionals face difficulty in providing care to foreign patients. Presumably, those with higher cultural sensitivity possess higher cultural competency, and cultural indicators are associated with personal factors, such as interest in or learning experience of foreign languages. We examined correlations between Intercultural Sensitivity Scale

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... and Cultural Competence in Nursing Scale (CCNS) scores in Japanese nurses and discussed implications of our findings in increasing cultural sensitivity in countries with limited exposure to foreign culture. A questionnaire survey on ISS, CCNS, and personal factors was conducted among 156 nurses. Correlations among the two scales and personal factors were analyzed. Total ISS scores were comparable with previously reported scores. ISS and CCNS scores were moderately correlated. ISS subscale scores were moderately correlated with the learning experience of foreign languages. Nurses most commonly learned English; most foreign patients were Chinese. Experiences of providing care to foreign patients were not related to cultural sensitivity. The lowest ISS score was obtained in "interaction confidence" subscale. Languages used by foreign patients did not match languages that nurses had interest in or had learned; this may contribute to their low confidence in interacting with foreigners. Nurses in a country with limited exposure to different cultures need educational intervention for providing care to foreigners regardless of their cultural experiences. ISS may be useful to identify nurses who need further education to foster confidence while interacting with foreigners.