Japan wants to attract more Vietnamese workers to work

With the hope that individuals and organizations will have a deeper understanding of the efforts of Japan and Vietnam in the field of international labor mobility between the two countries, on March 19, in Hanoi, the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) jointly organized the workshop "Pioneering efforts in international labor mobility between Japan and Vietnam."

At the workshop, the Japanese representative presented a report on the foreign labor recruitment policy approved by the Japanese Government and introduced the technical cooperation project being jointly implemented by JICA and relevant agencies of the Vietnamese Government to improve the transparency of the overseas dispatch program.

According to First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, Mr. Ishii Chikahisa, Japan currently has a huge demand for human resources in 12 industries and occupations.

These are food and beverage production, construction, machinery manufacturing, electronic information, automobile maintenance, shipbuilding and marine equipment industry, agriculture, fisheries and nursing.

Vietnamese workers play an important role in the Japanese economy. Currently, there are about 500,000 Vietnamese workers working in Japan, an increase of 8 times in the past 10 years.

Of these, the number of interns accounts for 40%. Vietnamese workers are very hard-working but need to participate in a specific skills program to improve their Japanese communication skills and vocational knowledge.

This can help improve the quality of Vietnamese workers in Japan.

Also at the workshop, Mr. Nagata Yuki, Head of Policy Coordination Department, Immigration and Residence Management Agency of Japan, said that the Japanese Government has met, reviewed and submitted to the Japanese National Assembly for approval a new labor reception regime, including Vietnamese workers.

It will take some time to finalize and implement these policies. However, when implemented, the policies will focus on three main pillars: prioritizing the protection of foreign workers' rights in Japan, creating opportunities for foreigners to advance, and ensuring that foreigners can live in the country with peace of mind.

According to Mr. Kubo Yoshitomo, Deputy Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office, Japanese society is aging rapidly, which means a serious shortage of labor force.

Therefore, the reform of the program to receive foreign workers, including Vietnamese workers, is very important for Japan at present. Japan will reduce the pressure on the risk of labor shortage to develop the country.