MoC on Skilled Workers

India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to boost the mobility of skilled Indian workers to Japan in 14 fields, including nursing, industrial machinery, shipbuilding, aviation, agriculture and the food services industry.

• It would set an institutional mechanism for partnership and cooperation between India and Japan on sending and accepting skilled Indian workers.

Japan’s Need for Workers

• It said the country will face a shortage of 6.44 million people in the labour force by 2030. Tokyo alone will be short of 1.33 million workers. More than 27% of the population in Japan is over 65 years of age, with a birth rate of 1.43 in 2017— well below the replacement level.

Significance

• It will enhance people-to-people contacts, foster mobility of workers and skilled professionals from India to Japan. India will gain from increased flow of Remittances.