Tokyo says no such decision was made during the recent summit between the two countries’ prime ministers
Japan has denied reports that it agreed to recruit 100,000 workers from Bangladesh annually, saying no such decision was reached during the recent summit between the two countries’ prime ministers.
Toshihiro Kitamura, press secretary of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dismissed the reports as unfounded in a post on X on Thursday.
He said the issue of accepting 100,000 Bangladeshi workers each year was not discussed or agreed upon at the summit between the prime ministers of Bangladesh and Japan on October 27.
Kitamura referred readers to the Japanese foreign ministry’s official account of the meeting for details.
The clarification came after several Bangladeshi media outlets and social media platforms reported that Bangladesh was planning to send 100,000 workers to Japan annually to meet the country’s labour market demand.
The reports, citing the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, said the proposed workforce would include technical trainees, skilled workers and professionals from various sectors.
However, Bangladesh’s plan to send workers and Japan’s formal agreement to recruit a specific number of them are two separate matters, as Tokyo’s statement makes clear.
According to the Japanese foreign ministry’s account of the October 27 summit, the discussions focused on economic cooperation, investment, regional connectivity and security. No agreement on recruiting 100,000 Bangladeshi workers was mentioned.
During the meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi highlighted the potential for 1 trillion yen in private-sector investment in Bangladesh over the next five years. The investment is expected to generate around 200,000 jobs in the country.
Bangladeshi nationals can currently seek employment in Japan through the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) programme and the Technical Intern Training Programme.
The two countries signed a memorandum of cooperation on labour migration in 2019. However, Japan’s stringent recruitment requirements, including language proficiency and skills assessments, remain significant barriers to large-scale employment.
No agreement or established arrangement currently provides for the annual recruitment of 100,000 Bangladeshi workers by Japan.
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