Licenses of manpower agencies sending workers to Japan have been halted from renewal. Since renewals have not been done since July, more than a hundred manpower companies sending workers to Japan have been left in uncertainty.
Due to a lack of coordination between the Department of Foreign Employment and the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security, the process of scrapping the old directive, and confusion after recent legal changes, the renewals have been stalled for four months.
In 2066 BS, a directive was issued for sending skilled and trainee workers from Nepal to Japan. According to that directive, manpower companies sending workers to Japan had to be listed separately.
These companies had been sending workers through JITCO (Japan International Training Cooperation Organization). However, Japan had already dissolved JITCO in 2017. But because of Nepal’s complex legal framework, they continued to send workers via JITCO.
In 2075 BS, the Foreign Employment Act 2064 was amended to require manpower agencies to send at least 100 workers annually for two consecutive years.
The law also stated that if a company failed to meet this requirement for two consecutive fiscal years, its license would be revoked. In practice, however, this provision was never fully implemented. Every year, the government renewed licenses by granting special exemptions.
On July 30, 2025 the “Act Amending Certain Nepal Acts, 2082” completely removed the requirement of sending 100 workers. However, manpower companies listed for sending workers to Japan are still being denied renewal. Even after paying the renewal fee, their licenses have not been renewed.
According to Kuncha Dorje Dimdong, secretary of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, 126 manpower companies listed for Japan are currently waiting for renewal. He said that after the removal of the 100-worker provision, they expected to get renewed easily, just like other manpower agencies. But even after four months, the government has failed to reach a clear conclusion.
The Ministry of Labor has stated that renewals are delayed because the process of scrapping the old directive is still underway. The ministry claims the system for sending workers to Japan had been operating under outdated rules, and the 2066 BS directive has now been recommended for dissolution.
Since the old “Directive for Sending Technical Workers to Japan, 2066” was based on the JITCO model, and JITCO no longer exists, the ministry formed a committee to remove the directive. According to ministry spokesperson Pitambar Ghimire, the committee has already officially recommended scrapping it. Only after the ministry’s final decision will the obstacles to renewal be lifted.
The Department of Foreign Employment has said that the ministry must make a direct decision for the renewal process to move forward. Tikaram Dhakal, Director at the Department, said the renewal file and the JITCO-related documents have already been forwarded to the ministry. However, no written instructions have been received from the ministry so far.
“Only after the ministry makes a decision on both the directive and the renewal can we proceed,” he says to Onlinekhabar.
Although old directives and legal provisions have been removed, Nepal’s preparation does not yet align with Japan’s new system, which is likely to create further complications.
Japan replaced JITCO in 2017 with the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP), through which Nepal currently sends trainee workers. Japan is now planning to replace TITP with a new Employment for Skill Development (ESD) program starting in 2027.
Japan is preparing to bring workers under this new ESD program. But Nepal is still sending workers through TITP. The ministry aims to allow all manpower agencies to send workers once the old directive is scrapped.
Some manpower companies sending workers to Japan had faced government investigation for allegedly submitting fake documents, sending workers without adequate language training, and issuing forged certificates.
The number of Nepalis going to Japan for foreign employment has been rising every year. In the last fiscal year, 17,163 Nepali workers reached Japan, but only 1,581 of them went through manpower companies. The rest went through individual labor approvals.
Nepal and Japan had signed an agreement in 2019 to send skilled workers. However, Nepali workers have not been able to get full benefit from it. Many have been paying exorbitant fees for individual labor approvals, leading to increasing cases of worker exploitation.
