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Career opportunities abound for Indian professionals in Japan

Bilateral trade between India and Japan is on the rise, with some estimates indicating that the trade level could reach $10 billion within three years. India is now the third most important trading partner for Japan in Asia after China and South Korea. The changes that have been happening in India with labor laws, taxes, legal and regulatory framework are contributing to the momentum in bilateral trade relations between the two countries.

The Information Technology (IT) / Information & Communications Technology (ICT) sector, in particular, shows immense potential for closer cooperation for mutual benefit. As a testament to the opportunities offered by this sector, the first Japan-India ICT Forum was formed on August 24, 2005. Around 200 top leaders, manufacturers, and researchers in the field of ICT attended the inaugural meeting.

The Forum identified six major sectors for ICT cooperation: Broadband, Mobile communication, e-governance, information security, R&D, and ubiquitous network. A joint task force was formed to develop a road map to synergize the potential of both the countries in this field and formation of a databank.

The joint effort has started bearing fruit as more and more Japanese and Indian companies have begun to work together.

Japan, the world’s second largest economy and one of the most technologically advanced nations with its world class information and communications technologies and state-of-the-art infrastructure, presents tremendous opportunities for Indian professionals.

The Indian IT workforce is already being tapped for executing various projects in Japan and this demand only seems to be rising as Indian companies build a track record of successes in Japan. Already, more than 70 Indian IT companies with about 4,500 professionals are reported to be operating in Japan. These include companies such as TCS, INFOSYS, HCL, NIIT, Perot Systems, Clarity Technologies, Systems & Software, Indicus Software, Patni Computer Systems Ltd and Polaris Software Lab Ltd.

The demand for Indian professionals is not limited to the IT sector alone, as there are growing opportunities in other fields of science and technology: biotech, medi-care, environmental sciences, hydrocarbon fuels, nano-science, robotics, and alternative sources of energy.

While the career opportunities in Japan for Indian professionals are great, language is a serious barrier. Knowledge of the Japanese language, culture and business etiquette is critical to being able to live and work successfully in Japan. It is one reason why many Chinese and South Korean companies have been able to do much better thus far.

In fact the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the nodal agency that advises about investments in Japan, emphasizes that foreigners should make the extra effort to pass the JETRO Business Japanese Proficiency Test (JETRO Test). In India, the JETRO tests are conducted in Mumbai and Bangalore. More details of the JETRO test are available on the organization’s website (http://www.jetro.go.jp/it/j/bj/index.html) or from any of Nihongo Bashi’s offices.

The Land of the Rising Sun beckons. Yet, the opportunities are for prepared professionals who have acquired Japanese language skills in addition to mastering their core competence. Bilingual professionals from India, comfortable in communicating in Japanese and English, have never had it so good.

Nihongo Bashi has been enabling Indian professionals to learn Japanese and take advantage of the career opportunities in Japan with its Academic Japanisation Program, which equips them with the requisite proficiency in Japanese as well as a thorough understanding of the culture and business etiquette. In addition to its flagship Japanese language education, the company is now setting up a Center for Excellence in Japanese Education in Bangalore in association with the Rashtriya Sikshana Samithi Trust (RSST) that will offer a one-year, full-time Post Graduate Diploma in Technical Japanese program. To learn Japanese in India, contact any of the Nihongo Bashi offices or send us an e-mail.