India–Japan Seminar Marks New Momentum in Workforce Cooperation

New Delhi ( Vivek Ojha ) : 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 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.