Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended a Vietnam-Japan labor cooperation forum in Tokyo on December 16, as part of his working trip to take part in the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and bilateral activities, the Vietnam News Agency has reported.

The forum was co-hosted by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan.

This year, Vietnam has recorded the highest number of guest workers ever, both in the number of laborers sent annually to Japan, estimated at around 85,000 and the figure of laborers currently working in Japan, standing at over 300,000. Vietnam is also the biggest source of workers sent to and presently working in Japan, among 15 countries sending apprentices and workers to Japan.

Speaking at the event, PM Chinh said the Vietnamese community in Japan with over 500,000 people, more than 300,000 of them are working there and the number has been on the rise, are contributing to Japan’s socio-economic development, becoming bridges fostering close ties between the two countries.

He suggested focusing on recruiting and dispatching workers with skills, qualifications, and a desire to learn in certain Japanese industries of strength such as semiconductor, information technology, automation, biotechnology, agricultural technology, underground water treatment and urban environment, towards building a workforce trained through practical jobs in Japan to contribute to the development of those industries in Vietnam.

Along with the current revision of Japan's legal policies regarding training and reception of foreign laborers, he said Japan should take the lead in training international workforces, including Vietnamese laborers, in order to step up effective, sustainable, and mutually beneficial labor cooperation between the two nations.

He hoped that Japanese agencies, along with the MoLISA and the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, would work together effectively to create the best living and working conditions for Vietnamese workers, minimize potential risks so that they could feel secure when studying, working and complying with the host country's laws, ultimately reducing legal violations in Japan.

The Vietnamese leader also proposed the Japanese Government, competent agencies and localities create favorable conditions and simplify visa procedures, aiming to eventually exempt Vietnamese citizens from entry visas, thus further promoting tourism cooperation between the two countries.

He suggested the early launching of study tourism, caring for and creating favorable conditions for the community of nearly 500,000 Vietnamese living, studying, and working in Japan who will serve as bridges to further deepen the bilateral cooperative relationship.