**Executive Summary**
On May 25, 2026, a joint seminar was held in Tokyo to strengthen workforce mobility cooperation and human resource development between India and Japan. Organized by the Embassy of India and ASEAN ONE Co. Ltd., the event focused on creating transparent, ethical, and scalable labor pathways to position India as a trusted global workforce partner. A key long-term objective discussed is the realization of a personnel exchange programme involving 50,000 people over the next 10 years.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Strategic Framework and Infrastructure**
* India is leveraging its demographic strength and institutional reforms to serve as a reliable source of skilled manpower for Japan.
* The international labour mobility framework utilizes platforms such as eMigrate, the National Career Service, and Model Career Centres to facilitate migration.
* Digital public infrastructure and employment facilitation systems are central to creating scalable and transparent workforce pathways.
**Sector-Specific Cooperation**
* Strong potential for collaboration was identified in manufacturing, caregiving, construction, automobile maintenance, hospitality, agriculture, and IT.
* Emerging opportunities are being explored in digital services and green economy sectors.
* Both nations emphasized the need for "occupational alignment" to ensure Indian skills meet Japanese industry standards.
**Priority Areas for Development**
* Strengthening Japanese language readiness and establishing more language testing centres in India is a primary requirement.
* Enhancing sector-specific skilling, testing infrastructure, and structured demand aggregation to improve visibility for Japanese employers.
* Adopting ethical recruitment practices and closer institutional collaboration between Indian skilling bodies and Japanese companies.
**State and Academic Initiatives**
* The Assam Government’s Foreign Language Initiative for Global Talent (FLIGHT) was highlighted as a successful model for preparing candidates for Japan-oriented pathways.
* Indian States and higher education institutions, such as IIT Guwahati, are playing an increasing role in aligning local workforces with international requirements.
**Impact Analysis**
**Skilled Indian Workforce**
**Impact**
Candidates gain expanded access to high-quality employment opportunities in Japan across diverse sectors ranging from healthcare to technology.
**Action Required**
Prospective workers should engage with state-led initiatives like FLIGHT and utilize the National Career Service platform to acquire necessary Japanese language proficiency and sector-specific certifications.
**Japanese Companies and Industry Leaders**
**Impact**
Employers gain access to a structured, reliable, and ethically sourced pool of skilled talent to address labor shortages in critical industries.
**Action Required**
Japanese senior executives and HR managers need to provide clear demand visibility and collaborate with Indian skilling institutions to ensure candidates meet specific technical and cultural requirements.
**Indian Government and Educational Institutions**
**Impact**
These bodies are tasked with scaling the skilling ecosystem and refining digital platforms to support a large-scale personnel exchange.
**Action Required**
Ministry and state officials must expand Japanese language and testing infrastructure, promote skill-recognition agreements, and ensure the eMigrate platform effectively manages the target of 50,000 exchanges.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Labour & Employment: The primary Indian ministry leading the seminar and workforce cooperation efforts to build transparent and ethical international labour mobility pathways.
Foreign Language Initiative for Global Talent (FLIGHT): An Assam State government initiative highlighted as a model for preparing candidates for global workforce opportunities, specifically for Japan.
eMigrate platform: A digital platform managed by the Ministry of External Affairs, identified as a critical component of India’s international labour mobility framework.
National Career Service (NCS): A digital platform and ecosystem of Model Career Centres central to India’s workforce preparation and employment facilitation for global markets.
Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship: A key regulatory body involved in the broader skilling ecosystem and institutional collaboration for India-Japan personnel exchange.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
India–Japan Seminar Marks New Momentum in
Workforce Cooperation
Posted On: 26 MAY 2026 12:28PM by PIB Delhi
A joint seminar was held in Tokyo on 25th May to discuss workforce mobility Co-operation between India
and Japan. The seminar was organised jointly by the Embassy of India in Japan and ASEAN ONE Co.
Ltd., Japan. Ms. Vandana Gurnani, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India,
delivered the keynote address.
The seminar brought together Japanese policymakers, industry leaders, academic institutions and
workforce mobility stakeholders to discuss long-term cooperation in skilled workforce mobility and
human resource development between India and Japan.
The event was attended by several prominent dignitaries from India and Japan, including Members of the
House of Representatives of Japan such as 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, Japan Bank for International Cooperation; Mr.
Kengo Otsuka, Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan; and Ms. Nagma Mohamed
Mallick, Ambassador of India to Japan.
In her keynote address, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, highlighted India’s growing role as
a trusted global workforce partner. She underlined the Government of India’s commitment to building
transparent, ethical and scalable international labour mobility pathways. She emphasised that India’sdemographic strength, robust skilling ecosystem and institutional reforms position the country as a reliable
source of skilled manpower for global economies, including Japan.
She also elaborated on India’s large-scale workforce preparation ecosystem, supported by higher
education institutions, Industrial Training Institutes, apprenticeship systems, digital skilling platforms and
career services. She highlighted India’s international labour mobility framework, including the Ministry of
External Affairs’ eMigrate platform, the National Career Service platform, Model Career Centres, and the
broader skilling ecosystem involving the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, States and
educational institutions.
Secretary further stressed the need to strengthen Japanese language readiness, sector-specific skilling,
testing infrastructure, skill mapping, occupational alignment, structured demand aggregation, ethical
recruitment practices and institutional collaboration between India and Japan.
Special messages were received from the Japanese Prime Minister, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam,
Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, and the Director of IIT Guwahati, outlining a medium- to long-term vision for
proactive India–Japan personnel exchange. The growing role of Indian States and higher education
institutions in preparing globally skilled workforce aligned to international requirements was also
highlighted.
The seminar witnessed participation from around 250 representatives of leading Japanese companies,
including senior executives and human resource managers exploring structured engagement with India’s
skilled workforce ecosystem.
Participants recognised strong potential for India–Japan cooperation across sectors such as manufacturing,
caregiving, construction, automobile maintenance, hospitality, agriculture, IT and digital services, and
emerging green economy sectors. Discussions also underlined the importance of digital public
infrastructure and employment facilitation systems in creating transparent and scalable workforce mobility
pathways.
As a way forward, both sides discussed expanding Japanese language and testing centres in India,
strengthening collaboration between Japanese employers and Indian skilling institutions, improving
demand visibility from Japan, promoting skill-recognition and occupational alignment, and building
trusted workforce mobility pathways through closer institutional cooperation.
The Assam Government’s Foreign Language Initiative for Global Talent (FLIGHT) was highlighted as a
State-led initiative to prepare candidates for global workforce opportunities, particularly for Japan-
oriented pathways.
The event concluded with remarks by Mr. Toshiaki Nishikawa, Chairman & CEO, ASEAN GROUP Co.
Ltd., who reiterated the importance of long-term India–Japan people-to-people partnerships. He expressed
optimism about future workforce cooperation and conveyed his enthusiasm for realising a Japan–India
personnel exchange programme involving 50,000 people over the next 10 years.
***
Rini Choudhury/Anjelina Alexander
(Release ID: 2265303) Visitor Counter : 1066
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