Japan Plans Major Workforce Initiative with India
Tokyo, August 29, 2025 – In a landmark agreement during the India-Japan Annual Summit, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shigeru Ishiba unveiled an expansive Action Plan for Human Resource Exchange between the two countries. Central to this initiative is a commitment to bring 50,000 skilled and semi-skilled Indian professionals to Japan over the next five years, helping ease acute labor shortages as Japan’s population rapidly ages.
The broader ambition encompasses a two-way exchange of 500,000 people by 2030, covering sectors such as healthcare, IT, semiconductors, manufacturing, agriculture, education, and research. These shared goals are part of a “joint vision” set against a backdrop of demographic change—by 2040, over a third of Japan’s population is expected to be aged 65 or older, triggering a severe workforce gap AP NewsWikipediaDD News.
To realize this plan, the agreement will:
- Expand Japan’s Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa and Technical Intern Training Program to cover all 16 categories in India, including establishing new exam and Japanese-language test centers across Indian regions.
- Offer pre-departure language and occupational training under India’s Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana to prepare certified Indian personnel for deployment in Japan.
- Launch the India-Japan Talent Bridge, internships, and job-matching events involving Indian students and mid-career professionals.
- Promote research partnerships, joint R&D, and co-creation initiatives through scholarships, exchange programs like Sakura Science and MIRAI-Setu, and the LOTUS Youth Science Programme.
- Leverage Japan’s industrial and managerial expertise to elevate vocational training across India under programmes such as INPACT, producing a Japan-ready workforce.
- Include Japan in India’s e-Migrate portal and create a dedicated corridor on India’s National Career Service platform to support safe, regulated recruitment of workers.
The plan aims not only to meet Japan’s urgent demand for labor but also to offer Indian workers opportunities to build international careers, send remittances home, and contribute to India’s skill development goals. Bilateral bodies from education, foreign affairs, industry, and academia will oversee implementation, hosting annual reviews to ensure progress and accountability Press Information BureauMEA India.
Prime Minister Modi emphasized the synergy between Japan’s advanced technology and India’s youthful talent pool, calling the partnership a platform for global innovation and prosperity. Ishiba underscored mutual interests in boosting economic cooperation and enhancing supply chain resilience amid changing global conditions.
This initiative builds on earlier agreements in areas like semiconductors, clean energy, AI, space exploration, and environmental cooperation, signaling a new era of people-to-people engagement and strategic collaboration between the two democracies MEA IndiaReuters.
Why It Matters
- Addresses critical labor shortages in Japan’s healthcare, tech, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors, thanks to demographic decline.
- Empowers Indian professionals with global exposure, skill enhancement, and economic opportunities.
- Strengthens bilateral ties, reinforcing both nations’ influence in the Indo-Pacific and co-creating innovation ecosystems.
Through this bold Action Plan, India and Japan are charting a path toward deeper mutual partnership—grounded in workforce mobility, shared innovation, and socio-economic complementarity.
