Myanmar specified skilled workers head to Japan

Two people from Myanmar have left for Japan to work in the country under a new visa category. ThetKoHtoo, aged 25, and HtetShein Win, aged 21, left an airport in the city of Yangon on Wednesday. They will work at a resort hotel in Nago City in the southern prefecture of Okinawa.

The Japanese Embassy in Myanmar says the two men are the first from the country to enter Japan under a visa category for those with specified skills. Japan introduced the category in April last year to address manpower shortages.

Their departure was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. They were allowed to travel after the Japanese government relaxed entry restrictions.

They can speak Japanese and English and have experience working at hotels in their home country. They passed a skills evaluation exam for Japan's accommodation industry held in Myanmar in October last year.

ThetKoHtoo said he is happy that he can work with Japanese people. HtetShein Win said he wants to send remittances to his family as they lost jobs due to the pandemic.

he visa category allows them to stay in Japan for five years. Their wage will be equal to or more than that of the locals.

The two will enter a 2-week quarantine upon arrival in Tokyo before heading to Okinawa.

Ref: NHk