Bangladesh Japan’s 1st choice in South Asia for skilled manpower

Relationship between the Japanese and Bangladeshis living in Japan has been bolstered significantly in recent years, resulting in the growth of Bangladesh’s labour market there, speakers said at a press conference yesterday.

Asian People’s Friendship Society (APFS), a Tokyo-based rights organisation, organised the press conference at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity.

The Japanese increasingly prefer Bangladeshi professionals over other South Asians. Such preference could help Bangladesh set its new destination for labour export in Japan, speakers said at the event.

Speakers, from both Bangladesh and Japan, made the remarks based on a recent research on Japan-Bangladesh friendship and migration, jointly conducted by APFS and Rikkyo University in Japan.

The elderly population in Japan is growing remarkably. To fulfil the demand for labour, the country has to import skilled manpower and its first choice is Bangladesh, said Masud Kamal, the chief coordinator of the research.

“We interviewed many Japanese for our research. Most of them said they prefer Bangladeshi workers over those from other South Asian countries,” he said.

The Japanese government has recently — after several years of efforts by APFS — eased the terms and conditions for Bangladeshi workers to stay in the country, added Masud, former secretary general of APFS.

APFS President Yoshinari Katsuo, Prof Mizukami Tetsuo and Prof Noro Yoshiaki from Rikkyo University, and Waseda University [in Japan] lecturer Nakayama Yuka also spoke at the programme.