Senior Secretary Dr. Neamat Ullah Bhuiyan met with Japan’s Vice Minister for International Affairs Watanabe Yoichi in Tokyo today. Photo: PID

TOKYO, Nov 5, 2025 (BSS)- Bangladesh and Japan have agreed to enhance cooperation in technical training and skilled labour recruitment as Senior Secretary Dr. Neamat Ullah Bhuiyan met Japan’s Vice Minister for International Affairs Watanabe Yoichi in Tokyo today. 

During the meeting, Dr. Bhuiyan expressed gratitude to the Japanese government for its continued support in the fields of technical training and overseas employment, according to a massage received here today. 

He highlighted Bangladesh’s ongoing reforms in migration governance, including legal modernization and digitalization, to ensure transparency and accountability.

The Senior Secretary informed that two Memoranda of Cooperation (MoC) and over 200 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) have already been signed between Bangladesh and Japan to tap into Japan’s projected demand for 11 million workers by 2040.

He said Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare & Overseas Employment has established a dedicated Japan Cell and is expanding Japanese language and skills training programmes with the collaboration of Japanese companies and institutions.

Dr. Bhuiyan thanked the Japanese government for initiating skill tests in five categories under the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) programme in Bangladesh and urged for the inclusion of additional sectors such as food and beverage production, food service, and forestry.

Vice Minister Watanabe responded positively and mentioned that the Embassy of Japan in Dhaka has already begun gathering information to expand the sectors under the SSW programme.

Dr Bhuiyan invited the Vice Minister to visit Bangladesh to strengthen bilateral cooperation in skill development and foreign employment.

Later, Dr. Bhuiyan visited the Tokyo office of IM Japan, a leading manpower-receiving organisation, and met its CEO Kanamori Hitoshi.

Mr. Hitoshi assured that the number of Bangladeshi technical interns and SSW workers will be raised to at least 300 in 2026.

Earlier, on November 4, the Senior Secretary attended a meeting with Bangladeshi manpower exporters at the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo and exchanged views on strengthening overseas employment initiatives in Japan.