Bangladesh to send “6 million workers” to Japan? False — here is what the report said
A Bangladeshi state news agency report from April about preparing workers for Japan’s “Specified Skilled Worker” visa resurfaced on Japanese social media in October as a “plan to send 6 million people.” We checked what the original report does and does not say, and set out the arguments for expanding and for restricting Japan’s intake of foreign workers.
Verdict: are the viral claims true?
- False“Bangladesh plans to send 6 million workers to Japan”The original report contains no figure of 6 million and describes no agreement with Japan. It cites a Bangladeshi projection that the country “could supply” more than 300,000 workers.
- Misleading“Japan promised to take 100,000 workers from Bangladesh”This was a target stated at a 2025 seminar by the head of a Japanese business cooperative, not a government commitment.
- False“Hidaka village in Kochi will take in 1,000 Bangladeshis”It was a goal set by the chair of a private friendship association. Hidaka village has officially denied it.
Translated and adapted from our Japanese original. Facts are as of the original publication date unless noted.
Japan’s foreign worker intake: expand it or restrict it?
- Intake cap (SSW-i + new program, through FY2028)
- 1.23M
- Foreign residents in Japan (end-2025, record high)
- 4.12M
- “6 million” in the original report
- None
Expand intake
Japan should accept the workers it needs in short-staffed sectors, within a set cap.
Restrict intake
Numbers are rising too fast. Japan should cut them further and address public concerns.
- Both sides agree
- Labor shortages are severe, and the debate should rest on accurate information.
- What to watch next
- The government’s basic policy on foreign nationals, due within fiscal 2026, and the April 2027 launch of the new program.
Key points
- On April 28, 2026, Bangladesh’s state news agency BSS reported that the government was stepping up preparations to send workers to Japan under the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa. The report spread again on X (formerly Twitter) in mid-October.
- The report quotes experts and officials who say Bangladesh “could supply” up to 40% of Japan’s projected intake of 820,000 workers — more than 300,000 people — if preparations are in place. It is not an agreed plan with Japan, and the figure “6 million” does not appear in it.
- In January 2026 the Japanese government set a combined cap of 1,231,900 workers through the end of fiscal 2028 for SSW (i) and the new “Employment for Skill Development” program starting in April 2027. The cap includes people already working in Japan.
- On October 14, singer Masanori Sera quoted a post citing the report’s figures and wrote on X, “Is this true? I would like the Japanese government to explain.”
1. What is happening
What the original report does and does not say
| Viral claim | What the report and the facts show |
|---|---|
| Bangladesh plans to send 6 million workers to Japan | The report has no “6 million.” It projects Bangladesh “could supply” up to 40% (300,000+) of Japan’s projected intake of 820,000. |
| It is a plan agreed with the Japanese government | It is not an agreement with Japan. It describes Bangladesh’s own projections and preparations. |
| Japan promised to take 100,000 workers | At a seminar in Tokyo in May 2025, the head of a Japanese business cooperative said it was “ready to welcome more than 100,000 over five years.” |
| Hidaka village in Kochi will take 1,000 people | It was a goal of “1,000 workers for Kochi” set by the chair of a private friendship association. Hidaka village says “there is no such fact whatsoever.” |
The report also quotes a Dhaka University professor who says Bangladesh “could meet 50–60% of Japan’s labor demand by 2040 if conditions are right.” Combined with a projection that Japan may need up to 11 million foreign workers by 2040, that would mean 5.5–6.6 million — but it is only one expert’s projection.
Japan’s intake caps (decided January 2026)
| Program | Cap through end of FY2028 | Sectors |
|---|---|---|
| Specified Skilled Worker (i) | 805,700 | 19 |
| Employment for Skill Development (from April 2027) | 426,200 | 17 |
| Total | 1,231,900 |
The caps include people already working in Japan.
Sources (mostly in Japanese)
2. What each side says
We summarize each side's main arguments in our own words, based on the original statements and reporting.
Expand intake
The government says Japan needs foreign workers in sectors short of labor. It explains that the cap was calculated from projected labor shortages minus what productivity gains and domestic hiring can cover, as a response to serious shortages.
Kimi Onoda, the minister in charge of policy on foreign nationals, has explained that the 1.23 million figure is a cap that includes people already living in Japan, not the number of new arrivals.
Some point out that calling it “1.23 million immigrants” misreads a five-year cap on SSW (i) as an immigration figure. SSW (i) allows a stay of up to five years and does not by itself lead to permanent residency (Mutsuo Taniguchi, Komeito member of the Kariya city assembly).
Restrict intake
In other countries, things have gone badly once immigrants exceed 10% of the population. Japan should accept no more than 5% for now; the government is moving too fast and taking too many (Sohei Kamiya, leader of the Sanseito party).
Naoki Hyakuta, leader of the Conservative Party of Japan, warns that the government’s intake policy amounts to promoting immigration. However, his claim that “1.23 million will come in over the next two years” has been reported to be wrong.
Foreign residents reached 4.12 million at the end of 2025, topping 4 million for the first time, and SSW holders rose 37% year on year to 390,000. With numbers rising quickly, there are concerns that local communities’ capacity to receive them, and responses to public anxiety, are not keeping up. The government itself lists addressing public anxiety and sense of unfairness as a pillar of its foreign national policy.
Focus on working conditions
The 1.23 million cap assumes continued large increases, yet Japan’s real wages keep falling and labor-law violations have been found at about 70% of workplaces using technical interns or SSW workers. To remain a country foreign workers choose, Japan must improve working conditions (Haruki Konno, employment and labor policy researcher).
Posts on X
Masanori Sera (singer): Quoted a post citing the figures from the Bangladeshi state media report and wrote, “Is this true? I would like the Japanese government to explain.”
View the post by Masanori Sera (singer) on X ↗
Sohei Kamiya, Sanseito leader: Argued that foreign nationals should be kept below 5% of the population and that the government is moving too fast and accepting too many (August 2025).
View the post by Sohei Kamiya, Sanseito leader on X ↗
Reading between the lines
This section is our editors' interpretation (speculation). It is not confirmed, but the facts it is based on are sourced.
The Bangladeshi government
Why is it pushing to send workers to Japan?
SpeculationRemittances from workers abroad are a pillar of Bangladesh’s economy. With its main destination, the Middle East, unstable, it likely wants to diversify. Japan is also a market where it competes with Nepal, Vietnam and others for placements, and the state news agency’s bold “up to 40%” projection may partly be aimed at showing a domestic audience that the government is making progress.
Facts this is based on
- • The report says Bangladesh has intensified its focus on the Japanese labor market to compete with Nepal, Vietnam and Indonesia.BSS, Bangladesh state news agency (original report)(Apr 28)
- • The ministry has set up a dedicated “Japan Cell” and aims to expand Japanese-language training and double the number of students going to Japan.BSS, Bangladesh state news agency (original report)(Apr 28)The Business Standard (republished BSS report)(Apr 28)
What people are saying
We searched Japanese posts on X for “Bangladesh” combined with terms such as Specified Skilled Worker, workers, immigrants and labor shortage, mainly from October 2026. Most posts worried about expanding intake; some spread the “6 million” figure as fact, while others pointed out it was wrong.
Expand intake
- “Some foreign workers are highly motivated — they get qualified and ask for higher pay because they work twice as hard. Treating them all as a worry is unfair.”
Restrict intake
- “Before accepting foreign workers, we should first fix jobs for local Japanese people.”
- “In the end it is for companies that want cheap foreign labor. Shortages should be solved by raising wages.”
- “Job and housing support is what Japan’s “employment ice age” generation has long asked for. It is wrong to be generous only to foreigners.”
Posts are paraphrased, not quoted, and individual accounts are not named.
3. Where things stand
Where they agree
- Many sectors in Japan face serious labor shortages.
- The debate should rest on accurate information so that numbers do not take on a life of their own.
Where they disagree
- How far Japan should expand its intake of foreign workers.
- Whether labor shortages should be met by foreign workers or by higher wages and productivity at home.
What to watch
- The government’s basic policy on foreign nationals, due within fiscal 2026.
- How the new “Employment for Skill Development” program, starting April 2027, is run.
- Whether intake in individual SSW sectors approaches its cap.
The original report describes a Bangladeshi projection of what it “could supply,” not an agreement with Japan or a plan to send 6 million people. All sides agree that labor shortages are serious and that the debate needs accurate information. Those who favor expanding intake argue Japan should accept the workers it needs in short-staffed sectors, within a cap. Those who favor restricting it argue numbers are rising too fast and should be cut further to address public concerns.
4. What happened next
Updates added after this article was published.
Japan–Bangladesh memorandum on the new program sets no numbers; the cap stays
Four Japanese ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Justice, and Bangladesh’s Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment concluded a memorandum of cooperation on the “Employment for Skill Development” program that starts in April 2027, and cooperation under it began on October 17 (it was signed in Tokyo on September 16 and in Dhaka on October 17). According to Bangladeshi media, intake is scheduled to begin in April 2027. The memorandum contains no commitment on how many workers Japan will accept; it says Japan will treat the expected intake it sets for each field as the upper limit, including workers from Bangladesh, and may temporarily suspend approval of training-employment plans in a field if that number is exceeded. Japan has concluded similar memorandums with Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Laos. At a press conference on October 20, Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita said he was “not considering” revising the cap of 1.23 million workers for SSW (i) and the new program combined through the end of fiscal 2028.
Immigration Services Agency (bilateral memorandums on Employment for Skill Development, Japanese)Immigration Services Agency (memorandum with Bangladesh, English text)The Business Standard (recruitment to begin in April 2027)(Oct 19)Mainichi Shimbun (1.23 million cap: Justice Minister Yamashita “not considering a review”, Japanese)(Oct 20)Japan–Bangladesh summit makes no mention of how many workers Japan will accept
On October 27, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held talks with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who was visiting Japan. Takaichi said new investment in Bangladesh by Japanese companies is expected to reach 1 trillion yen over the next five years and to create 200,000 jobs, and she also announced the provision of patrol vessels. The joint statement issued after the talks and the memorandums signed on this occasion focus on areas such as investment, agriculture and fisheries, and the environment, and do not mention how many workers Japan will accept.