ISLAMABAD: With an objective to enhance exports to Japan, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has planned to engage Pakistani Diaspora on Japan.
“With this objective, in the first step, the MoC’s special representatives will undertake series of visits to Japan to mobilize Pakistani community based in different Japanese cities to highlight Pakistani products in Japanese markets” a well placed source at MoC told this scribe here on Wednesday.
Pakistanis in Japan form the country’s third-largest community of immigrants from a Muslim -majority country, trailing only the Indonesian and Bangladeshi community. As of 2011, official statistics showed 10,849 registered foreigners of Pakistani origin living in the country, up from 7,498 in 2000.
According to a recent survey Japanese government figures, 19.9% of registered Pakistanis lived in Saitama, 17.8% in Tokyo, 12.3% in Kanagawa, 10.4% in Aichi, 8.98% in Chiba, 7.59% in Gunma, 6.02% in Ibaraki, 4.44% in Tochigi, 4.21% in Toyama, 3.27% in Shizuoka, and the remaining 4.98% in other prefectures of Japan
In this regard, all available diplomatic channels and resources will be used to gather Pakistanis spreading over Japan. Seminars, conference and symposiums will be organized to impart Pakistanis to play their due to role in marketing Pakistani products.
Moreover, Pakistanis will also be motivated to start their own business with small amount specially import of Pakistani goods to Japan via small entrepreneurs.
Currently, Pakistani automobile sector is already dominated by Japanese companies, therefore, it is need of the hour to increase Pakistani exports to Japan to balance the bilateral trade volume because trade balance in favour of Japan.
Secondly, MoC is very much alive about huge potential of consumption of Pakistani products in Japanese market specially, Pakistani agricultural products and fruits get special attraction from Japanese customers.
Presently, lingual barriers are considered to be main hurdle in business to business interactions, therefore to overcome this hurdle, MoC will propose Japanese leading universities and colleges to start Japanese language courses at major Pakistani institutions as well as at gross root level for little know how of illiterate labourers intending to go to Japan.
In this regard, MoC is compiling a package of proposals and recommendations for both the Pakistani and Japanese concerned departments. Minister Economic Dr. Talat Imtiaz based in Tokyo is also active in this regard and holding a series of meetings with Japanese authorities.
To explore new horizons of cooperation on training of Pakistani unskilled labour, he has held number of meetings with Japan International Training Cooperation Organization (JITCO. JITCO is now the public interest incorporated foundation, authorized by Japanese Cabinet office.
It is pertinent to note here that Pakistanis in Japan run used cars export businesses. This trend was believed to have begun in the late 1970s, when one Pakistani working in Japan sent a car back to his homeland. The potential for doing business in used cars also attracted more Pakistanis to come to Japan in the 1990s.
