TSU -- The Mie Prefectural Government has signed a memorandum with Vietnam's labor ministry and Hanoi University of Science and Technology on securing human resources to accept more Vietnamese workers in the prefecture.

At a regular press conference Jan. 22, Gov. Katsuyuki Ichimi revealed that the memorandum was signed Jan. 15 during his visit to Vietnam, and emphasized the prefecture's policy of strengthening cooperation with Hanoi.

According to the prefectural government, Ichimi met with Nguyen Ba Hoan, deputy minister of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs, in Hanoi. Upon conclusion of the agreement, Hoan said that his country would like to continue to expand the dispatch of human resources to the prefecture. Ichimi responded, "We'll promise to provide an environment where Vietnamese people can work and play an active role safely and with peace of mind."

Meanwhile, the prefecture has also signed a memorandum with Hanoi University of Science and Technology on promoting employment support for students.

Mie Prefecture hopes to solve the labor shortage in the business sector by expanding the acceptance of Vietnamese workers. The number of Vietnamese laborers in the prefecture has already been increasing rapidly. As of October 2023, 9,226 of the 33,753 foreign workers in the prefecture were Vietnamese, the most by country.

Demand for more workers is coming from industries struggling with securing labor, namely nursing care, manufacturing and construction. Last August, the prefectural government held a joint interview session in Hanoi with seven companies that have offices in the prefecture. Eight Vietnamese students with specialized knowledge and skills were hired, and will start working in the prefecture this spring.

(Japanese original by Ryoma Hara, Tsu Bureau)