Japan's labour shortage is an opportunity for Bangladesh

Japan is planning to recruit more than 500,000 workers from foreign countries by 2025. This can be a great opportunity for Bangladesh.

The number of foreign workers in Japan crossed 1.28 million in October 2017. If the new plan is implemented by 2025, this number would increase by 39 per cent. Japan is relaxing its strict immigration to boost its economy.

But the applicants need to have some skills and language proficiency. For example, a potential migrant is expected to know Japanese language - equivalent to "N4" on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. This means the candidates would need to understand Japanese language used in daily life. The "N4" level can be reached after about 300 hours of learning the Japanese language.

Besides Japan, many other countries are facing manpower shortages. I hope that the ministry of manpower will consider the situation and take measures so that skilled migrant workers can be sent to Japan.

Across the globe, Bangladeshi migrants have a good reputation for being honest and hardworking. Bangladesh government should research about these countries and try to tap the opportunities at the soonest.

Sakibul Alam

Gopibagh, Dhaka