KV Prasad & Sandeep Dikshit
tribune news service
New Delhi, August 4
Japan, once cautious on accepting temporary immigrants, is now open to skilled workers in order to bridge the gap in the workforce due to a rapidly aging population, Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu told The Tribune in an interview.
Japan is giving India and the South Asian region more attention in other areas besides trade and commerce. In addition to cooperating in Indo-Pacific, both countries should soon enter into a relationship centering around military equipment besides planning to open up their military bases to each other’s navies.
Japan is facing a shortage of workforce, especially in small and medium enterprises. To tackle this problem, the new Status of Residence “Specified Skilled Worker” scheme was introduced in April this year.
“With this policy, foreign workers who have engaged in jobs that require proficient skills in specified industry fields are qualified to work in Japan too,” said Hiramatsu.
The Ambassador also drew attention to another scheme called Technical Internship Training Programme, under which foreign nationals can learn specific skills during their temporary (up to five years) stay in Japan. “Already some Indians are taking advantage of this scheme, taking internship as factory workers, caregivers and agricultural workers. We would like more Indians to come to Japan under this scheme,” he said.
In Punjab, Hiramatsu said Japan was closely working with Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and other high-level officials. Japanese companies SML Isuzu, Yanmar and Toppan are already operating in Punjab.
He said both countries are currently negotiating ACSA (Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement) under which militaries will be able to access each other’s bases.
Both countries, revealed the Ambassador, are attempting to initiate a defence relationship in military hardware. “As the first step to implement this agreement, Japan and India began a joint research on UGV (unmanned ground vehicle) and robotics technology last year. A future cooperation which deserves the word “breakthrough” will be on US-2 amphibian aircraft,” he said.
Speaking on the meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and six Japanese ambassadors, Hiramatsu said he had proposed the idea of having such a meeting three years ago given the importance of South Asia region in Japan’s diplomacy. “We had the first South Asian Japanese ambassadors’ meeting in 2016, and it has been held annually in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and again in India this year. This meeting has a strategic value,” he said.
“The importance of this area is evidently increasing, let alone its economic growth. Japan and India are cooperating in third countries to realise our shared vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, such as the Colombo South Port East Container Terminal project in Sri Lanka. The meeting presented an opportunity to discuss future collaborations in the region, including connectivity projects,” said the envoy.
On both countries cooperating in third countries, the envoy said Japan and India are natural partners for African development. “We can further collaborate in a mutually complementary manner. I hope to see more collaborative projects in Africa,” he said.
(Read the full interview on www.tribuneindia.com)
‘Opportunities in Punjab’
In my recent visit to Punjab, I found further opportunities in smart city, energy, as well as agriculture and food processing. We are looking forward to advancing our relations. — Kenji Hiramatsu, Japanese ambassador to india
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