March 30, 2026 | 06:15

Japan to ramp up recruitment of Vietnamese taxi and bus drivers

Nhật Dương

This represents a significant opportunity for Vietnamese laborers to access a new segment of the Japanese market that faces high demand, offering the potential for stable working conditions and steady income.

Japan to ramp up recruitment of Vietnamese taxi and bus drivers
Illustraive photo.

The Department of Overseas Labor under the Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam has announced that Japan will organize skill evaluation exams for the automobile transport sector in Vietnam.

This initiative is being implemented to fulfill a cooperation agreement between Vietnam and Japan regarding the recruitment of workers under the "Specified Skilled Worker" residency status.

The examinations are scheduled to take place in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang, beginning April 2.

To be qualified for employment, workers must first pass both a Japanese language proficiency test and the specialized skill evaluation for the automobile transport industry.

Successful candidates will then enter Japan under the "Designated Activities" residency status, during which they must work toward converting their foreign driver's licenses into Japanese licenses.

For those seeking positions as bus or taxi drivers, the requirements are more extensive; in addition to the license conversion, they must complete a mandatory "new driver training" course to meet Japanese professional standards.

The program includes strict timelines for these requirements. Truck drivers are given a maximum of six months to pass their license conversion, while bus and taxi drivers are allowed up to one year. If workers fail to obtain the corresponding Japanese driver's license within these specific timeframes, they will not be granted residency extensions and will be required to return to Vietnam.

According to the department, these exams are designed to assess the professional competence of workers to ensure they meet the criteria for the "Specified Skilled Worker No. 1" program in the automobile transport sector.

This represents a significant opportunity for Vietnamese laborers to access a new segment of the Japanese market that faces high demand, offering the potential for stable working conditions and steady income.

Attention
The original article is written and published on VnEconomy in Vietnamese, then translated into English by Askonomy – an AI platform developed by Vietnam Economic Times/VnEconomy – and published on En-VnEconomy. To read the full article, please use the Google Translate tool below to translate the content into your preferred language.
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