Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and Japan discussed several labor issues on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Indore, India, on Friday.

The issues were discussed by Indonesian Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah and the Japanese Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare, Katsunobu Kato.

One of the issues discussed was the presence of labor policy advisors from Japan in Indonesia, which, according to Fauziyah, is very important for supporting labor development.

"Some of the benefits of having labor policy advisors include updating information on Japanese labor regulations and policies and increasing the ministry's human resource capacity through the Sharoushi program in Indonesia," she added.

The labor policy advisors also provide information on cooperation with other Japanese government bodies, such as the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

She expressed hope that the advisors would help carry out mediation and speed up Indonesia-Japan cooperation in the field of labor, especially for inclusive and sustainable manpower programs.

The two ministers also discussed the implementation of the technical intern training program in Indonesia.

Fauziyah explained that the program has contributed significantly to improving the quality and competence of the Indonesian workforce.

According to her, Indonesia's young workforce has a high interest in participating in the program, while the number of requests from Japanese companies for Indonesian interns has also been high.

"This can be seen in the last 10 years, where the number of interns has tended to increase every year," she said.

The two ministers also discussed digital labor inspection, which requires a just transition.

"Digital labor inspection is one of the priority options that can meet the needs of accurate data and optimize the performance of labor inspectors," she said.

Minister Fauziyah also expressed her intention to establish cooperation with Japan for the capacity development of the ministry's employees, especially those serving as public employment service officers, mediators, labor inspectors, and vocational instructors.

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Translator: Zubi M, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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