Bangladesh is intensifying its preparations to send a large number of skilled workers to Japan under the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) category across 16 sectors in order to help address Japan’s ongoing labor shortage, as the Japanese government has set a target to recruit 820,000 foreign workers in these sectors by March 2029, and experts believe that if Bangladesh prepares effectively it could supply at least 40 percent of this demand, meaning more than 300,000 workers; whereas previously Bangladesh had the capacity to send workers in only six sectors under this category, it is now preparing to develop skilled manpower for all 16 sectors, with Dhaka University’s Japanese Studies Department Chairman and Japan expert Professor Dr. Md. Jahangir Alam stating that Japan is an attractive destination for Bangladeshi workers due to its high demand for skilled labor and that proper skill development could open a major avenue for foreign currency earnings; according to the labor welfare wing of the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo citing reports, Japan plans to recruit around 1.2 million foreign workers under both Employment Skill Development (ESD) and SSW categories by 2029, while long-term projections suggest that by 2040 the country may require up to 11 million foreign workers; experts emphasize that before going to Japan, workers must acquire Japanese language proficiency and gain knowledge of the country’s advanced technological and social systems, as this will increase acceptance in Japanese society and once trust is established it will lead to even greater employment opportunities, with the potential for Bangladesh to supply up to 50–60 percent of Japan’s labor demand by 2040 if all conditions are met; to achieve this, the government has taken short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives including improving the quality of Japanese language training centers, enhancing local trainers’ skills, bringing in language instructors with Japanese support, establishing special economic zones for skill training, and expanding language and technical training across all districts; additionally, efforts are underway to upgrade BMET-run technical training centers to Japanese standards through agreements with Japanese institutions, with Japanese language education already introduced in 53 Technical Training Centers (TTCs) and hybrid online training being conducted in 15 of them, while more than 200 private language institutes are also operating and currently 95 Japan-approved recruiting agencies (sending organizations) are active in Bangladesh; as countries like Nepal, Vietnam, and Indonesia are already exporting manpower to Japan, Bangladesh is taking active steps to remain competitive by introducing policy and administrative measures such as appointing an advisor at the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, assigning a special assistant for expanding employment in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, launching a dedicated “Japan Cell,” creating a separate website, and strengthening workforce capacity; the labor wing at the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo has also been reinforced with additional personnel to better understand local demand and create new job opportunities; at the same time, the government is focusing on sending students as well, setting a target to increase the number of Bangladeshi students going to Japan from 4,000 in 2025 to 10,000 in 2026, supported by easy loan facilities of up to 1 million taka per student through the Probashi Kallyan Bank, allowing them to work up to 28 hours per week; furthermore, the requirement for recruiting agencies to maintain a deposit of 1.5 million taka has been withdrawn to simplify the process, and various measures including bilateral agreements, training programs, easier banking channels, and revised guidelines have been implemented; officials say these initiatives are strengthening mutual cooperation between Bangladesh and Japan while making Japan an increasingly important and promising job market for Bangladeshi workers, offering better income, social status, access to services, and a high standard of human resource development, as the government continues working to enhance language skills and professional competence to send more workers to Japan in the coming years.
Japan to hire 1.2 million workers, big opportunity for Bangladesh
