Japan Turns to South and Central Asia to Address Labour Shortages
As Southeast Asian economies continue to grow, Japan is shifting its focus to South and Central Asia in a bid to secure foreign workers for its labour-strapped industries, Nikkei Asia reports. With countries like Vietnam and China supplying fewer workers due to rising domestic opportunities, Japan now sees potential in nations such as India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan.
To facilitate this, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is preparing to commission a private-sector body to engage directly with recruitment agencies in South and Central Asia. The aim is to assess Japan’s labour requirements and identify barriers to worker mobility from the region.
This initiative forms part of Japan’s broader strategy to fill staffing gaps in essential sectors such as elder care, hospitality and construction.
New Programmes Target Emerging Labour Sources
Onodera User Run, which supports training under Japan’s Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) programme for high-end restaurants, recently signed an agreement with Uzbekistan’s Migration Agency. The company plans to provide up to six months of Japanese language training for young people hoping to work in Japan. Once they pass the SSW exam, they will be relocated to take up roles in food service, elder care and other industries. The firm aims to train around 200 Uzbek workers annually.
Similarly, the Japan-China-Asia Educational Medical Cultural Exchange opened three Japanese language centres in Uzbekistan earlier this year, focusing on preparing future skilled workers.
Meanwhile, Watami, a Japanese restaurant group, is establishing a training facility in Bangladesh, with the goal of sending 3,000 workers to Japan each year. While workers from South and Central Asia currently make up a small proportion of Japan’s foreign workforce, these efforts signal a growing interest. As of December, Japan hosted 1,427 Indian, 4,623 Sri Lankan and 346 Uzbek nationals under the trainee and skilled worker schemes.
Demographics Offer Growth Potential but Also Competition
The potential labour pool in South Asia is significant. India had a workforce of 492 mln in 2023, growing by over 10 mln annually. Youth unemployment remains high at 15.8%, suggesting strong motivation for overseas work.
Bangladeshi participation in Japan’s technical training and skilled worker programmes rose by around 50% in 2023 to reach 2,177 individuals.
In total, approximately 740,000 foreign nationals were in Japan under these schemes at the end of 2023. Vietnam remains the largest source, with 345,619 workers, though its growth is slowing.
China once provided over 100,000 trainees, but the figure has declined steadily since 2013, falling to 25,960 by December 2023, as economic conditions improved. Vietnam’s per capita income has doubled in a decade and now stands at $4,500, raising concerns that it too may soon face reduced outbound migration.
Japanese officials are aware of rising competition from other countries in the region. South Korea has tripled its foreign worker quota since 2021, and its minimum wage now matches Japan’s average hourly pay. Taiwan is also seeing rising wages in sectors that traditionally recruit overseas workers, such as manufacturing and construction.
At the same time, the issue remains politically sensitive. With Japan’s upper house elections approaching, immigration remains a contentious topic, with some voices calling for tighter controls on foreign worker inflows.
Kursiv also reports that in early July, five Iranian nationals and two citizens of Uzbekistan were detained in New York.
