Tokyo: India and Japan reinforced their commitment to long-term workforce mobility and human resource development during a joint seminar held in Tokyo on Sunday. The seminar was jointly organised by the Embassy of India in Japan and ASEAN ONE Co. Ltd. Japan bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, academic institutions and workforce mobility stakeholders from both countries.
Ms. Vandana Gurnani, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, delivered the keynote address and highlighted India’s growing position as a trusted global workforce partner. She said India is focused on creating transparent, ethical and scalable international labour mobility pathways to meet the workforce requirements of countries like Japan.
She emphasised that India’s strong demographic advantage, expanding skilling ecosystem and institutional reforms make the country a reliable source of skilled manpower for global industries. The Secretary also highlighted India’s workforce preparation infrastructure, including higher education institutions, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), apprenticeship programmes, digital skilling platforms and career services. She referred to initiatives such as the Ministry of External Affairs’ eMigrate platform, the National Career Service portal and Model Career Centres that support international labour mobility.
She stressed the importance of strengthening Japanese language training, sector-specific skill development, testing infrastructure, occupational alignment, skill mapping and ethical recruitment systems to further deepen India–Japan workforce cooperation.
The event was attended by several prominent dignitaries from both nations, including Japanese House of Representatives members Mr. Yamashita, former Minister of Justice; Mr. Ino, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; Mr. Nakamura, State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Mr. Tadashi Maeda, Chairman of Japan Bank for International Cooperation; Mr. Kengo Otsuka, Deputy Director-General of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Ms. Nagma Mohamed Mallick, Ambassador of India to Japan.
Special messages were also received from the Prime Minister of Japan, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Director of IIT Guwahati, outlining a long-term vision for stronger India–Japan personnel exchange and cooperation in global workforce development.
Nearly 250 representatives from leading Japanese companies, including senior executives and HR managers, participated in the seminar to explore collaboration opportunities with India’s skilled workforce ecosystem. Participants identified strong potential for cooperation in sectors such as manufacturing, caregiving, construction, automobile maintenance, hospitality, agriculture, information technology, digital services and emerging green economy industries.
Discussions also highlighted the importance of digital public infrastructure and employment facilitation systems in building transparent and scalable workforce mobility pathways. Both sides discussed expanding Japanese language and testing centres in India, strengthening ties between Japanese employers and Indian skilling institutions, improving demand visibility from Japan, promoting skill recognition and occupational alignment, and creating trusted workforce mobility channels through closer institutional collaboration.
The Assam Government’s Foreign Language Initiative for Global Talent (FLIGHT) programme was also showcased as a state-led initiative aimed at preparing Indian candidates for international employment opportunities, especially in Japan. The seminar concluded with remarks by Mr. Toshiaki Nishikawa, Chairman and CEO of ASEAN GROUP Co. Ltd., who expressed optimism about future India–Japan workforce cooperation and proposed a long-term personnel exchange programme involving 50,000 people over the next decade.
