Bangladesh can be key partner in meeting Japan’s demand for young workforce: Moyeen

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Moyeen Khan said on Saturday that Bangladesh can be an important partner in meeting Japan’s demand for young and working-age people.

He made the remarks as the chief guest at the ‘Japan-Bangladesh Partnership Seminar 2026’ held at the Diploma Engineers Institution auditorium in the capital’s Kakrail.

The minister said, “Japan has a large elderly population, while Bangladesh has a relatively large young and working-age population. The demographic differences can be utilised to create employment opportunities for Bangladeshi youths in various sectors in Japan.”

Referring to the longstanding friendly ties between the two countries, he said there was scope to take bilateral cooperation to a new level.

He said such cooperation was important both for creating employment opportunities for Bangladeshi youths and meeting Japan’s workforce needs.

If Bangladeshi youths get employment opportunities in Japan, their living standards will improve while they can also make an important contribution to the country’s services sector, he added.

The minister also stressed the importance of Japanese language education, saying young people seeking employment in Japan would need to improve their language skills. He said initiatives could be taken to establish specialised institutions for teaching Japanese if necessary.

Japanese representatives at the seminar said, “Japan does not have a large young population like Bangladesh. The country has a growing elderly population and workforce shortages in sectors including construction, agriculture, driving and nursing.”

They said there were opportunities to recruit skilled and trained workers from Bangladesh for these sectors, and stressed the need for Bangladeshi youths interested in working in Japan to develop Japanese language and professional skills.