Bangladesh should set up international standard training intuitions to groom manpower required in Japan as the population has experienced a negative growth in recent years, sources in Dhaka and Tokyo said.

The population of Japan experienced a negative 0.50 per cent in the just concluded year 2024. The population of G-7 country recorded at 123,753,041 (negative 0.50 per cent) in 2024 as compared with 124,370,947 (negative 0.50) in 2023, 124,997,578 (0.54 per cent) in 2022 and 126,304,543 (negative 0.31 per cent) in 2020.

Besides, the number of aging populations has increased in the last 10-20 years as the life expectancy of the Japanese population is one of the highest in the world.

Diplomats who have worked in Japan and are now working said Bangladeshi workers, if properly trained in Japanese language, can penetrate in the Japanese market easily.

He said some 2 lakh Nepalese and 4 lakh Vietnamese live in Japan compared to 33,000 Bangladeshis live in Japan.

Bangladesh exported a total of 1,079 workers to Japan in the just concluded year 2024, a total of 967 workers in 2023 and a total of 508 workers in 2022, according to data of Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).

Bangladesh has exported a total of 3,707 workers to Japan during a period of 2000-2023, according to the data of (BMET).

The working Japanese population is decreasing and Bangladesh should have a mid- and long-term policy to groom manpower eyeing the Japanese labour market, said a Bangladesh diplomat while talking to the Dazzling Dawn.

He said that the Bangladesh mission in Tokyo usually issued 6,000—8,000 visas to Japanese citizens in a year. Besides, a good number of Japanese citizens visit Bangladesh with” visa -on-arrival”……..

“Meanwhile, Japan has lifted travel advisory on Bangladesh from Level 2 to Level 1 with effect from 27 December 2024. It is expected that it will facilitate more Japanese businessmen and tourists travel to Bangladesh,” said the Bangladesh diplomat working in Tokyo,

A Bangladesh diplomat working in Tokyo said that the Bangladesh mission in Tokyo in December 2024 issued some 500 visas and the interest of Japanese has increased ……

He said Japanese citizens avoided visiting Bangladesh during political turmoil in July and August and the travel warning on Bangladesh stands in the way of attracting Japanese citizens into Bangladesh until October, 2024

New Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Md. Daud Ali  arrived in Tokyo last month and working relations between Japan and Bangladesh are expected to gain new momentum that have been lost in recent years with the political posting of the Bangladesh diplomat in Tokyo, sources in Dhaka and Tokyo said.

Mir Khairul Alam, former Additional Director General of BMET, while talking to the daily said that some 3000 Bangladeshi youths have been trained in Japanese language with requisite technical training.

“The manpower export to Japan depends on requirement of G-7 market. Bangladesh has started exporting to Japan. The government is eyeing higher training of manpower to cater to the market of industrialized markets, ‘ he said.

“To tap the Japanese labour market, some 30 technical training centres [TTCs] across the country under the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training [BMET] are offering the youths necessary training and a six-month course on Japanese language and culture,” said Engineer Md Salah Uddin, former director of Training Operation at the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training while talking to the daily recently.

Bangladesh is eyeing to tap the Japanese labour market, and in this regard, has already begun grooming a good number of Bangladeshi youths with the necessary skills,” he added.

“Bangladeshis, trained in Japanese language and culture and with proper vocational training, will cater to the G-7 market next year,” the BMET official also said.

However, a leading manpower exporter of the country was not as optimistic, saying instead that the training and teaching methods need improvement and the duration of courses should be extended up to a year.

The government is now conducting six-month-long training sessions on spoken Japanese language at 30 TTCs.

In a significant shift for a country long closed to immigrants, Japan is looking to allow foreigners in certain blue-collar jobs to stay indefinitely, an official from the Ministry of Justice said

The government had been looking to ease those restrictions, which had been cited by companies as among the reasons that they were hesitant to hire such help.

“As the shrinking population becomes a more serious problem and if Japan wants to be seen as a good option for overseas workers, it needs to communicate that it has the proper structure in place to welcome them,” Toshihiro Menju, managing director of think-tank Japan Centre for International Exchange, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Tokyo on August 27, 2019 signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with Dhaka to recruit skilled Bangladeshi workers.

Under the MoC, Japan would recruit skilled workers for its 14 sectors including care-giving, building cleaning management, machine-parts industries, electronics, construction, shipbuilding, automobile and agriculture.

While talking to this correspondent recently, former  Japanese Ambassador in Dhaka ITO NAOKI said “ Japan has a shortage of workers in some industries due to the declining birthrate and aging population, and the Japanese government believes that securing sufficient human resources is necessary for future industrial growth.”

“Japan has revised the law and set up a new framework to accept foreign citizens equipped with a certain level of work expertise and skills. The new framework, “Specified Skilled Worker” aims to ensure foreign workers a legal status and good working and living conditions,” he said.

 On August 27, 2019, the Memorandum of Cooperation on Basic Framework for Information Partnership for Proper Operation of the System pertaining to Foreign Human Resources with the status of residence “Specified Skilled Worker” was signed between the concerned Ministries in Japan and the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare & Overseas Employment of Bangladesh. Bangladeshi people are known for their diligence and quality-skills. We hope that they connect people of Japan and Bangladesh by taking this opportunity to live and work in Japanese communities.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s economic engagement with Japan will continue to grow in the coming days despite the recent political change in Bangladesh.

Outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori expressed this view while talking to the press.

Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina quit the power on August 5, 2024 through a revolution, engineered by general students and common man  

Referring his meeting with interim government Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus at State Guesthouse Jamuna in Dhaka on  August 21, 2024, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori Ambassador Iwama conveyed Japan’s intention to continue supporting Bangladesh's development and prosperity under the “Strategic Partnership” enshrined between the two countries, while standing by the interim government headed by Prof Yunus.

Interim government Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus  sought Japan’s financial assistance to reconstruct and rebuild the country from its “broken” condition. 

Chief Adviser Prof Yunus expressed his gratitude for Japan’s continuous support and expressed his desire to bring Japan-Bangladesh relations to their ‘peak’. Both sides concurred that they would closely work together to make it happen.

Earlier, Japan strongly hoped that through a peaceful and democratic political transition, Bangladesh would keep advancing on a path towards stable development.

Since independence, Japan has committed to provide ODA support of more than US$ 30.32 billion as project aid, food aid and commodity aid.

Former Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh Iwama Kiminori  reiterated Japan’s unwavering commitment to its friendship with Bangladesh, emphasizing that Tokyo’s stance remained unchanged during the country’s interim government.

He underscored Japan’s long-standing partnership with Bangladesh, highlighting its consistent efforts to support Dhaka’s economic development over the years.

Bangladesh’s economy has been shattered by the rampant corruption and plundering of the state wealth by the Bangladesh’s Awami League leaders and some business tycoons during  the tenure of 2009-2024..

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast a 4.5-percent growth for Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) in the current fiscal year, down from 6.6 percent forecast earlier.

The projection of the global lender came in its latest edition of the flagship World Economic Outlook. This is the lowest since fiscal 2019-20 (July 2019-June 2020) when the global coronavirus pandemic hit.

The Washington-based lender said this major reduction in growth comes after significant uncertainties around the political and economic outlook following the July-August political turmoil.

The World Bank in a report released earlier this month has forecast a 4 percent growth for Bangladesh's GDP in the current fiscal year, down from the 5.2 percent forecast earlier.

“Japan has been providing significant assistance to Bangladesh regardless of political changes,” he noted.

“There are many challenges ahead, but we have been working together for over 50 years, and we will continue to do so,” the envoy said, reaffirming Japan’s dedication to its bilateral relationship.

Japan is Bangladesh's 12th largest trading partner in exports and seventh-largest in imports. It is the lone country in Asia where Bangladesh's exports crossed the $1-billion mark nearly a decade ago on the back of the duty benefit.

The export of merchandise, especially garment items, to the Far East nation stood at $1.90 billion in the last fiscal year of 2022-23 while imports amounted to $2.02 billion, data from the commerce ministry showed.

About 85 percent of the local and Japanese companies with operations in both nations want their governments to sign an FTA, according to a survey of the Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2021.

About 15 years ago, textile and logistics industries from Japan began to expand their footprint in Bangladesh thanks to its abundant and inexpensive labour force.

In recent years, firms such as motorcycle manufacturers, major telecommunication companies and IT companies have invested in the country to tap the business potential in the fast-growing consumer market of 17 crore, the joint study group report said.

The number of Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh has tripled over the past decade to nearly 350. The stock of foreign direct investments from the country was $533.66 million in December 2023.

More investments are expected through the Bangladesh Special Economic Zone, which partially opened in December 2022. Located in Narayanganj, it is the first zone developed by a Japanese company in partnership with the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority.