India and Japan held a joint seminar in Tokyo on May 25 to strengthen cooperation in workforce mobility and human resource development between the two countries. The event was jointly organised by the Embassy of India in Japan and ASEAN ONE Co. Ltd., Japan.
The seminar brought together policymakers, industry leaders, academic institutions, and workforce mobility stakeholders from both countries to discuss long-term collaboration in skilled workforce exchange.
Vandana Gurnani delivered the keynote address, highlighting India’s growing role as a trusted global workforce partner. She emphasised India’s demographic advantage, robust skilling ecosystem, and institutional reforms that position the country as a reliable source of skilled manpower for global economies, including Japan.
The event was attended by several prominent dignitaries, including Nagma Mohamed Mallick, Japanese lawmakers, senior government officials, and industry representatives. Around 250 representatives from leading Japanese companies also participated in the seminar.
Discussions focused on expanding cooperation across sectors such as manufacturing, caregiving, construction, automobile maintenance, hospitality, agriculture, IT, digital services, and emerging green economy industries. Participants also stressed the importance of transparent and scalable workforce mobility systems supported by digital infrastructure and ethical recruitment practices.
The seminar highlighted India’s workforce preparation ecosystem, including Industrial Training Institutes, apprenticeship systems, digital skilling platforms, the eMigrate platform, and the National Career Service portal. The need for stronger Japanese language training, sector-specific skill development, testing infrastructure, and occupational alignment was also emphasised.
Special messages were shared by the Japanese Prime Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, and IIT Guwahati leadership, outlining a long-term vision for India-Japan workforce collaboration. Assam’s FLIGHT initiative was also highlighted as a state-led programme aimed at preparing candidates for global employment opportunities, particularly in Japan.
The event concluded with remarks by Toshiaki Nishikawa, who expressed optimism about future India-Japan workforce cooperation and envisioned a personnel exchange programme involving 50,000 people over the next decade.