Govt Begins Preparations to send Nepali Workers to Japan Under New ESD System

The Government of Nepal has started preparations to send Nepali workers to Japan under the Employment for Skill Development (ESD) system, which Japan plans to implement from 2027, according to government officials.

Japan is preparing to introduce the ESD system to recruit foreign workers, and Nepal is working on a new set of guidelines to facilitate the deployment of Nepali workers under the scheme.

Last Thursday, the Cabinet scrapped the Guidelines on Sending Technical Trainee Workers to Japan, 2009 (2066 BS). Nepali workers had been sent to Japan under these guidelines, but only in very limited numbers. The guidelines had become irrelevant after Japan discontinued the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) last year.

Although the TITP has been scrapped, Nepali workers are still going to Japan through alternative channels such as the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) programme.

Officials at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security said Japan has already expressed interest in recruiting Nepali workers under the new ESD system.

“Japan is looking to recruit a large number of Nepali workers. We are preparing guidelines accordingly and holding discussions to ensure Nepali workers are protected from economic exploitation,” a senior ministry official told New Business Age.

According to the official, labour demand under the ESD programme ranges from agriculture to industrial sectors. The forthcoming guidelines will clearly define recruitment procedures and deployment mechanisms.

Nepal had been sending trainee workers to Japan through the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization (JITCO) since 2010. However, Japan replaced the JITCO system with the TITP in 2017. The TITP was also discontinued last year following allegations of labour exploitation and human rights violations.

Manpower companies had long demanded the repeal of the old guidelines, arguing that the JITCO system granted recruitment rights to only a limited number of licensed agencies, undermining competition and transparency.

President of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) Bhuvan Singh Gurung said the government should urgently prepare work procedures to take advantage of Japan’s new ESD system. “Japan wants to recruit workers under a private business-to-business (B2B) model, so the government should frame the procedures accordingly,” he said.

Gurung, who recently visited Japan, said the ESD system will recruit workers for sectors ranging from agriculture and driving to industry. “After seeing that Nepalis entering Japan on student visas were unable to work properly, Japan is now seeking to bring in a large number of Nepali workers directly on work visas,” he said, urging the government to plan strategically to benefit from the opportunity.

More than 400,000 Nepalis are currently living in Japan.

Gurung said many Nepalis failed to benefit from the previous JITCO licensing system due to flawed provisions. Although around 500 manpower companies were once listed under JITCO, many stopped renewing their licences after Japan discontinued the system.

Previously, Japanese language tests for trainee workers were conducted through the Japan Alumni Association of Nepal (JAAN). Recruitment agencies had accused JAAN of monopolising the exams and causing unnecessary delays, prompting legal challenges at the Supreme Court.

“Even workers who had already received visas were deliberately failed in language tests and harassed,” Gurung said, adding that the government’s decision to scrap the old guidelines was welcome as court cases alleging economic exploitation were still pending.