From India, Soft Power Punching Harder With Opportunity and Skill

Global labor migration has recently gained immense traction, with many countries experiencing labor shortages. In the current geopolitical landscape, there has been a rise in the international demand for skilled and semi-skilled workers. Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while addressing an event in India, emphasized that there is a global demand and a corresponding availability in India.

This article explores the potential India-Japan match in the domain of legal labor migration.

The Time Is Ripe

Across Europe, Japan, the Gulf, and other countries, there is a rising labor shortage. This expected shortfall in workers is expected to grow to nearly 50 million by 2030, and even further over the next two decades, possibly reaching 250 million in 25 years. Moreover, the rate at which this shortage is growing, approximately 11–12% annually, is outpacing the economic growth of these countries.

Nearly 20 major countries will account for 90% of this global labor gap, including Japan, with approximately 2–3 million. This offers an economic and developmental opportunity for emerging economies like India, as in many cases, a worker can earn ten times more just by crossing a border.

What do the Current Statistics Say

India is emerging as the bright spot in the migration domain. As per the Global Access to Talent from India (GATI), around 34 million people of Indian origin currently live and work abroad. India also sends around 700,000 workers overseas annually, with 60% going to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations. Given the current global trends, Japan could also be a higher potential destination.

In 2024, the number of foreign workers in Japan alone surged by 250,000 in a year, reaching 2.3 million in October. This marked the largest year-on-year increase since records began in 2008. As a result, foreigners now account for 3-4% of the total workforce.

In terms of overall foreign worker distribution in Japan, manufacturing employs the most, with 590,000. It is followed by the service industry at 350,000 and wholesale and retail at 290,000.

Additionally, the number of foreigners in Japan's Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) program climbed by 49.4% to 200,000 in 2024. The number of participants in the Technical Intern Training program, which brings relatively unskilled workers to the country to acquire new skills, increased by 14.1% to 470,000. According to the 2024 Immigration Services Agency data, out of 48,835 Indians in Japan, 230 Indians are on the SSW.

New Priority From Japan

Japan is actively recruiting skilled foreign professionals with competitive salaries, job security, and streamlined visa policies. Engineers, researchers, and STEM graduates are highly valued, and companies provide long-term career growth opportunities.

In 2023 alone, over 50,000 foreign professionals, including many Indians, were hired in Japan's IT sector. Offering a refreshing change, with a simplified work visa process for skilled professionals, permanent residency available in just 1–5 years, and government-backed relocation support, demand is expected to continue growing.

The Japan-India Match

Japan favored local long-term suppliers and did not follow international technological standards for a long time. However, the demographic shifts suggest that around 37.5% of the population will be 65 years or above by 2050, creating imbalances in unskilled and skilled labor markets. Tokyo can no longer afford such hefty barriers to becoming globally flexible.

In a recent meeting, the Indian External Affairs Minister and the Japanese Ambassador discussed an action plan to establish a predictable and concrete flow of Indian talent into Japan under the Special Skilled Workers agreement. The intention on both sides is to open more legal migration pathways.

This follows Japan's establishment of a new status of residence, "Specified Skilled Worker" in 2019, to welcome capable foreign specialists to work in specific fields. These specialists would function as workers ready to take on jobs without prior training. Consistent with this approach, Japan had signed Specified Skilled Worker Memoranda of Cooperation with 15 countries as of 2022, including India in 2021.

Categories of Specified Skills

This residency status is intended for foreign nationals who are 18 years old or above and possess considerable knowledge or experience in a specific sector. Sixteen occupations are covered under the SSW, including nursing care, aviation industry, accommodation industry, agriculture, fishery and aquaculture, building cleaning management, machine parts and tooling, industrial machinery, electric and electronics industries, construction industry, shipbuilding and ship machinery industry, automobile repair and maintenance, manufacture of food and beverages, and food service industry. Currently, individuals can stay for a maximum of 5 years in total.

Additionally, a six-month apprenticeship visa for Indians is being broadened to include new job categories in Japan.

*One of several categories of specified skilled workers is the hospitality industry. (©Ministry of Foreign Affairs)*

The Indian Sweet Spot

India has signed migration and mobility partnerships, as well as specialized worker agreements, with 52 countries. Recently, the government announced it is set to amend the Emigration Act of 1983 to better align India with the demands of the modern global workforce.

Indian EAM Jaishankar also recently referred to the growing intake of Indian professionals in ongoing worker movements. The country has a surplus of skilled and semi-skilled labor, a relatively young population, and a stable economic foundation. Indian talent is generally well-regarded globally. India's annual labor exports could grow from 700,000 to 2.5 million workers. That alone could add around $300 USD billion to the country's gross domestic product through remittances.

Skill development remains a key sector of collaboration that accentuates India-Japan industrial competitiveness. Currently, the joint-government initiatives for skilling manufacturing-related human resources in India include 35 Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing and 11 Japanese-endowed courses. There are more than 300 Japanese language institutes and around 60 engineering colleges offering Japanese as a foreign language. In Delhi alone, 58 government schools now offer Japanese as a language option. Private language institutes are also growing in number.

Bringing Together Supply and Demand

Japanese manufacturing practices such as 5S, Kaizen, and others, are also upgrading soft skills like discipline and work culture of Indian human resources in the manufacturing sector in India.

However, sending more Japanese teachers to India, opening up new categories under SSW and additional test centers in India, sharing the trade test syllabus/curriculum, and holding SSW-related tests online would go a long way in scaling up these initiatives. Visa harmonization and signing a migration and mobility agreement, which India has signed with several other countries, are the natural progression of cooperation. These also testify to how closely the two countries are working towards a common goal.

*Another category of specified skilled workers is the aviation industry. (©Ministry of Foreign Affairs)*

In related initiatives, the recently launched GATI Foundation also helps bridge the demand-supply mismatch in the semi-skilled workforce. It supports the legal and structured migration of Indian workers to international labor markets facing aging populations and declining workforce numbers. This should help strengthen India's labor supply with a long-term migration ecosystem.

Areas for Further Coordination

Nonetheless, matching workers to opportunities requires better coordination between countries. Concerns of a black economy in migration that undermines both individuals and nations still need attention.

For example, past issues have arisen with evacuations, cases of wage theft, unfair employment practices, limited recognition of Indian qualifications abroad, lack of support for returning migrants, unresolved exploitation risks, and loss of documentation. A mechanism to resolve those, along with language and soft-skills programs tailored for customer-facing sectors, would be a game-changer in countries like Japan.

Additionally, efforts are underway to build community support structures overseas and align Indian certification systems with global standards. Simultaneously, these should help create legal pathways to prevent any irregular migration.

In an era of disruptive technologies, India must adapt its skilling strategy to be more responsive and inclusive of global demand. Newer areas should be targeted, including green jobs, infrastructure, and startup roles related to sustainability. Private investment should also be encouraged to expand training infrastructure.

Conclusion

As more Indians move abroad, their expectations of government support will grow. Clearly, there is a need for legal and safe migration to ease global labor shortages and economic pressures. Skilled migration is a priority for all major countries, and India can potentially be part of the solution to the Japanese demography problem. In particular, hiring a talented and skilled workforce would open new vistas for India's social, educational, and cultural connection with Japan.

Connecting skills in India with opportunities in Japan is just the latest avenue to deepen ties and strengthen the soft power diplomacy between the two countries. This phenomenon is expanding opportunities for Indian workers in Japan, and India must seize the day.

Author: Varuna Shankar

Varuna Shankar is an editorial manager at India's World, an online magazine.