Vietnam Labor Day 2025 in Japan: Promoting Bilateral Labor Cooperation

On November 30, at the capital Tokyo, the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam, solemnly organized the "Vietnam Labor Day in Japan 2025".

The event was attended by representatives from Japanese ministries and agencies, receiving enterprises, labor management organizations, trade unions, and a large number of exemplary Vietnamese workers living, studying, and working in Japan.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu delivers the opening speech at Vietnam Labor Day 2025 in Japan.

According to the TTXVN correspondent in Tokyo, Vietnamese Minister of Home Affairs Do Thanh Binh sent a congratulatory letter for the "Vietnam Labor Day in Japan 2025" and highly appreciated the Vietnamese workers for their diligent spirit, creativity, high discipline, which have earned the trust of Japanese enterprises and society. On the foundation of good bilateral relations, the Minister believes that the two countries will continue to expand labor cooperation, creating more opportunities for Vietnamese workers to study and train in an advanced working environment, contributing to forming high-quality human resources for the country in the new development period.

In his opening speech, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu emphasized: "Vietnam Labor Day in Japan was initiated by the Prime Minister of the Vietnamese Government and has been continuously organized in Japan to recognize and honor the great efforts of the Vietnamese labor community working here. The Ambassador affirmed that the majority of Vietnamese workers are hardworking, strictly comply with Japanese laws and regulations, and actively contribute to Japan's socio-economic development and the friendly relations between Vietnam and Japan."

Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu stated that there are currently over 450,000 Vietnamese workers living and working in Japan under various residency statuses such as interns, specified skilled workers, engineers, and technicians. In particular, according to statistics from the Japanese Immigration Services Agency, Vietnamese workers account for more than 70% of the total number of specified skilled workers level 2 in Japan, affirming their leading role in terms of qualifications and skills among the foreign labor community.

Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu, representatives from the Japanese Ministry of Justice, and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, along with 26 outstanding Vietnamese workers and interns, take a commemorative photo.

The Ambassador emphasized that the theme of this year's Labor Day is "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", expressing the desire for Vietnamese workers to understand and strictly implement Japanese laws, customs, and traditions, thereby building a responsible and sustainably integrated labor community. The Ambassador called on Vietnamese workers to continuously learn to improve their Japanese language proficiency, skills, and discipline awareness; at the same time, he requested receiving enterprises and trade unions to strengthen guidance and supervision to prevent legal violations.

In the congratulatory letter, Japanese Vice Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Nagasaka Yasumasa emphasized that cooperation in training and receiving Vietnamese human resources is a field with "immense potential and no limits". As of the end of June, Japan has received about 200,000 technical interns and 150,000 specified skilled workers who are Vietnamese, making Vietnam the largest sending country. Many workers, after returning home, have effectively utilized the knowledge and skills accumulated in Japan.

Vice Minister Nagasaka stated that the Law on Employment Training for Skill Development has been enacted, according to which the Employment Program for Skill Development will replace the current Technical Intern Training Program from April 1, 2027, aiming to ensure workers' rights and meet Japan's long-term human resource needs. The government is also coordinating with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to build a job search platform for foreigners, creating more transparent recruitment channels for Vietnamese workers.

Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu and 6 management trade unions awarded Letters of Commendation take a commemorative photo.

Japanese Vice Minister of Justice Mitani Hidehiro also sent a congratulatory letter for Vietnam Labor Day in Japan, affirming that Vietnam is one of Japan's most important partners, especially after the two countries upgraded their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. As of the end of June 2025, Japan has about 660,000 Vietnamese people living, studying, and working, including 200,000 technical interns and 150,000 specified skilled workers, the largest among other countries. According to Vice Minister Mitani, in the 5 years from 2024, Japan plans to receive 820,000 foreign workers under the Specified Skilled Worker Program in 16 fields, while by mid-year, only about 340,000 have been reached. This shows that the demand for receiving foreign workers, including Vietnamese workers, will continue to increase.

Representative of receiving enterprises, Director of Corps Company, Mr. Kato Ryo, said that the company was established in 1974 and currently has over 6,400 employees. The company began receiving Vietnamese interns in 2019 and has received 708 people to date. The company currently has over 400 foreign workers, all Vietnamese, working at the Villa Fonten hotel system under the Sumitomo Fudosan Group. The enterprise maintains many support activities for interns, organizes family visits, rewards those who complete the program well, and assigns outstanding workers to core positions.

Sharing with TTXVN correspondent, Mr. Kato Ryo highly appreciated Vietnamese workers for their hardworking and dedicated work attitude. He added that the company is making efforts to continue recruiting more workers from Vietnam.

Representative of exemplary workers, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Xuyen from Sanshin Kogyo Company shared that after 5 years working in Japan, she won the Japanese Speech Contest and passed the National Vocational Skills Test level 2. In an interview with TTXVN correspondent, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Xuyen highly appreciated the support from the enterprise, trade union, teachers, and family during the integration process. In the coming time, she aims to continue improving her skills and supporting new workers.

Chairman of the Japan-Vietnam Economic Forum (JVEF), Mr. Inokuchi Takeo, said that since 2019, the forum has focused on skill training, improving Japanese language proficiency, and supporting long-term career orientation for Vietnamese workers. From 2022 to now, over 200 interns have been taught Japanese for free, of which about 60% have reached N4 level or higher.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu and 17 companies receiving Vietnamese workers awarded Letters of Commendation take a commemorative photo.

Within the framework of the event, Ambassador Pham Quang Hieu presented Letters of Commendation to 26 outstanding workers and interns, 17 receiving companies, and 6 management trade unions.

Mr. Phan Tien Hoang, First Secretary, Head of the Labor Management Department, Vietnamese Embassy in Japan, reads the congratulatory letter from Vietnamese Minister of Home Affairs Do Thanh Binh.

"Vietnam Labor Day in Japan 2025" is an occasion to honor exemplary labor models, while also serving as a forum to synthesize policies, connect enterprises and workers, reflecting the increasingly deep human resource cooperation trend between Vietnam and Japan. In the context of Japan continuing to face labor shortages, while Vietnam has a young and dynamic workforce, human resource cooperation is expected to continue being an important pillar in promoting the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

Numerous Vietnamese workers attend the event.