Dhaka: Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury today announced the government’s decision to mandate weekly reporting on overseas employment activities. This move aims to enhance monitoring efforts and expand access to international labor markets.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the minister emphasized the significance of Japan as a promising labor market during the first meeting of the committee formed to increase overseas employment and ensure expatriate welfare. Held at the ministry’s conference room in the capital, the meeting highlighted Japan’s demand for foreign workers, safe working environment, guaranteed labor rights, and comparatively high wages as key attractions for Bangladeshi workers.
It was revealed during the meeting that Japan recruits workers from Bangladesh and other countries under four visa categories. A report published in The Japan Times on December 23, 2025, noted that Japan plans to recruit more than 1.2 million foreign workers by March
2029 under the ESD and Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) categories alone.
The meeting also addressed Bangladesh’s current labor market scenario. The latest national census indicates that the country has around 25 million surplus working-age individuals after meeting domestic labor demands. Proper training and skill development could enable a significant portion of this population to secure employment opportunities in Japan, thereby boosting foreign currency earnings.
The government’s election manifesto targets creating overseas employment for 10 million Bangladeshis over the next five years. As part of efforts to achieve this goal, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment is formulating a strategy to increase employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers in Japan. The meeting today marked the first session of the committee dedicated to this initiative.
Discussions during the meeting included recruiting Japanese language teachers and trainers, preparing skilled manpower based on demand,
increasing the number of students going to Japan under language student visas, and conducting skill tests in six out of the 16 fields under the SSW category in Bangladesh. Initiatives to launch skill tests in the remaining 10 fields were also considered.
Additional topics included establishing a Japan Foundation office in Dhaka, enhancing preparedness under the SSW and ESD systems to boost demand from Japanese companies, increasing the number of Japanese language instructors at Bangladeshi training centers, and directing the Bangladesh Embassy in Japan to provide labor market search reports.
The meeting also explored expanding the number of seats and test centers for Japanese language examinations, introducing Japanese language courses at all Technical Training Centres (TTCs), and recruiting local Japanese language instructors. The possibility of appointing Japanese trainers through a virtual teaching platform was also discussed.
Attendees included Prime Minister’s Adviser on Expatriates’ Welfare and Overs
eas Employment and Labour and Employment Mahdi Amin, State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Md. Nurul Haque, Senior Secretary of the ministry Dr. Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, Executive Chairman of the National Skills Development Authority Dr. Najnin Kawsar Chowdhury, and Full Faculty Member of Oita University, Japan, Dr. Md. Shakirul Islam Khan, along with senior ministry officials.