Japan examines practical ways to attract Vietnamese workers

At the event, the Japanese side introduced their policy on migrant worker recruitment and a technical project currently being implemented by the JICA and competent Vietnamese agencies to improve the transparency of the programme with regards to dispatching labourers overseas.

According to First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy Ishii Chikahisa, the Far East nation has great demand for workers in the fields of food and beverage production, construction, manufacturing, electronic information, automobile maintenance, and the shipbuilding industry, among others.

He assessed that Vietnamese workers have an important role to play in the Japanese economy, adding that some 500,000 Vietnamese are now working in Japan, an increasing eight-fold increase in 10 years.

Although Vietnamese labourers are known for their industriousness, they need to join technical intern training in order to improve their language competence and vocational skills, he added.

Nagata Yuki of Japan’s department of immigration and residency management said that the Japanese Government has submitted a new policy in a bid to receive foreign workers, including those from Vietnam, for approval.  

When the policy comes into force, it will prioritize ensuring foreign workers’ rights are maintained and creating promotion opportunities for them, thereby allowing them to feel secure when living in the country, he said.

Meanwhile, Kubo Yoshitomo, deputy chief of the JICA Vietnam, said the new policy is significant to Japan as it ages and will help the country ease the labour shortage pressure for national development.