New Delhi, July 12 -- In late May 2025, Japan announced that it would welcome one lakh (100,000) skilled workers from Bangladesh over the next five years. This initiative will be formalized through memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the Bangladesh Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET) and Japanese partners. By 2040, Japan's labour shortage is expected to reach around 11 million, while Bangladesh's youth are eager for jobs. However, a big question arose: will this initiative deliver mutual benefits, or will missteps strain the hard-earned trust between Dhaka and Tokyo?

Directly speaking, this potential has a high chance of bringing better benefits to Bangladesh if carefully managed. First of all, it will create a mass...