March 26: The government has opened the door for employment opportunities for Nepali workers in Japan after signing an agreement with the latter on Monday (March 25) regarding the supply of labourers.

Dr Ram Prasad Ghimire, the officiating secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, and Japanese Ambassador to Nepal, Masamichi Saigo, signed the the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) amid a programme at Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur, in the presence of Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, Gokarna Bista.

Minister Bista said the Japan has become an attractive destination for Nepali workers. Meanwhile, Japanese Ambassador Saigo pledged that his country would take good care of the Nepali workers.

Prior to this, Japan had been accepting Nepali students who were allowed to work part time. It is estimated that there are around 75,000 Nepalis, including 500 students currently in Japan. Following Monday’s agreement, Nepali citizens can now enter Japan on work visa. However, the modality of sending the workers has not been finalized. Those interested in going to Nepal must pass the Japanese language test and skills test.

According to the agreement, the two countries have decided to set up a separate mechanism to select candidates. The mechanism will also be responsible for taking tests of the candidates to see if they meet the skills and language requirements.

Government agency will be responsible for the selection of candidates, according to Ghimire. However, the number of workers and the criteria for their skills and language proficiency have not been finalized yet. The cost to be incurred by the workers has also not been decided so far.