Japan Denies Reports of Accepting 100,000 Bangladeshi Workers Annually

Tokyo has dismissed as baseless the reports suggesting that the Japanese government has agreed to accept 100,000 workers from Bangladesh every year. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that no such decision was reached during the recent meeting between the leaders of the two nations. Consequently, the reports regarding the intake of 100,000 workers into the Japanese labor market have been called into question.

In a statement released on Thursday (October 29) via the social media platform X, Toshihiro Kitamura, Press Secretary for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, clarified the matter. He stated that the information regarding the annual intake of 100,000 workers from Bangladesh is incorrect, and no such agreement was reached during the meeting between the two countries' leaders on October 27.

Previously, various Bangladeshi media outlets—citing the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment—had reported on a plan to send 100,000 workers to Japan annually. However, a proposal to send workers is not the same as an agreement by the Japanese government to accept a specific number of workers. During the meeting, it was noted that Japan’s private sector could potentially invest one trillion yen in Bangladesh over the next five years, which is expected to create approximately 200,000 job opportunities.

Currently, Bangladeshis have the opportunity to work in Japan through the "Specified Skilled Worker" (SSW) and "Technical Intern" programs, following a memorandum of cooperation signed between the two countries in 2019. These programs require candidates to meet specific criteria, including language proficiency and technical qualifications. Japan has reiterated that there is no formal agreement in place to accept 100,000 Bangladeshi workers annually.