Staff Reporter
Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan yesterday said opportunities for Japanese language training should be created to generate employment for Bangla-deshi youths in Japan.
He said creating employment for unemployed people in rural Bangladesh and opportunities for them to work in Japan’s elderly care sector would further enrich the economic relations between the two coun-tries, he said, adding Japan’s demand can be met by creating a skilled workforce in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has also spoken of establishing special educational institutions, if neces-sary, for Japanese language learning, he said while speaking as the chief guest at a seminar on sending skilled workers to Japan at the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh here.
Mentioning that there is a structural difference in the population composition of Japan and Bangladesh, he said Japan has an “inverted pyramid” population structure, with fewer young people and a much larger elderly population.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, has a much larger young population, resembling a normal pyramid and this contrast should be utilised as an opportunity.
The minister said Japan is the largest provider of economic assistance to Bangladesh as a single country, outside multilateral organisations like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
He said excellent economic and bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Japan have been developed since independence. Excluding multilateral organisations like the World Bank and the Asian Develop-ment Bank, Japan has provided Bangladesh with the largest amount of economic assistance as a single bilateral donor country.
He said former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman had laid a strong foundation for the bilateral economic relationship since the post-independence period, which Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has expressed his intention to take further forward.
