Japan Increases Quota for Indonesian Interns Amid Population Crisis
JAKARTA - The Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) is expanding opportunities for placing Indonesian technical interns in Miyazaki, Japan.
The cooperation is being carried out with the Miyazaki Prefectural Government to strengthen labour relations between Indonesia and Japan.
Kemnaker Secretary General Cris Kuntadi stated that the cooperation focuses on improving competencies and expanding placement opportunities for technical internship participants.
“We express our appreciation to the Miyazaki Prefectural Government for its commitment to expanding this cooperation, particularly in human resource development (HRD) and increasing opportunities for placing Indonesian technical interns,” Cris said in his statement in Jakarta on Wednesday (13/5/2026).
According to Cris, the scope of the cooperation covers training, dispatch, and acceptance of Indonesian technical internship participants in Miyazaki Prefecture.
The two countries will also strengthen the periodic exchange of data and information to support the sustainability of the programme.
Kemnaker is preparing the development of an information-sharing system to support the career development of participants after completing the internship programme in Japan.
Miyazaki Prefecture is currently facing a decline in its population, thus requiring additional foreign labour.
One of the main focuses of the cooperation is the implementation of job matching to ensure that participants’ competencies match the needs of industries in Japan.
Kemnaker is also preparing pre-placement training through government or private training centres in various regions.
Based on Kemnaker data, the placement of Indonesian technical internship participants to Japan in 2025 reached 19,332 people.
Meanwhile, up to May 2026, the number of participants dispatched was recorded at 18,316 people.
These figures indicate that the placement of internship participants remains high in the early part of the current year.
Specifically in Miyazaki Prefecture, the number of Indonesian internship participants has increased from 243 people in 2025 to 285 people in 2026.
He stated that Miyazaki Prefecture needs foreign internship participants to support various industrial sectors.
“The presence of Indonesian citizens has made a significant contribution to the agricultural sector in Miyazaki Prefecture. We see opportunities for Indonesian internship participants to contribute in more sectors in the future,” he said.