Growing up in Japan
More than 1 year working at Musashino Food Group, Japan, Mr. Phan Thai Viet, from Nong Son commune, Da Nang, has become familiar with the strict working pace of a large-scale food processing line.
What Viet learned is not only technology but also the way Japanese people organize work: punctuality, complying with procedures, working focused and taking responsibility for each stage. Viet believes that this will be an important baggage when returning home.
Also working at Musashino, Ms. Vo Thi Thu Phuong, from Thang Binh commune, Da Nang, has worked in the cake processing sector for more than 3 years. Many other Da Nang workers have also gradually stabilized their lives, paid off their loans and started accumulating capital for the future.
Musashino currently employs about 12,000 workers, including about 3,000 Vietnamese and 200 Da Nang workers. In February 2026, at a working session with the Da Nang Department of Home Affairs, the two sides discussed increasing the number of city workers working at the group to about 400-500 people in 2026 and the following years.
The city is also considering direct recruitment in mountainous areas, ethnic minority areas, combined with Japanese language training before departure.
The common income level introduced ranges from about 30-45 million VND/person/month, depending on the industry and position.
Turn returning people into quality human resources
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Qui Quy - Deputy Director of Da Nang Department of Home Affairs - said that the value of sending workers to work abroad does not only lie in income.
After a few years of working in Japan, a worker can return with foreign language skills, machine operation skills, quality management experience and adaptability to modern production environments. These are skills that domestic businesses have to spend a lot of time and money to train.
Da Nang currently has 301 valid Japanese FDI projects with a total registered capital of about 1.22 billion USD. In the 2026-2030 period, the city continues to orient cooperation with Japan in modern agriculture, high technology, automation, processing and supply chains.
This opens up more job opportunities after workers return home. Experience in production, agriculture, foreign languages and understanding Japanese business culture can help them find jobs at FDI enterprises or start their own businesses.
Accumulated money can also become startup capital if employees are supported in management, market and business connection.
To prevent this resource from being wasted, labor export policies should therefore be extended to the stage when workers return, from skill assessment, job introduction to startup support.
