Increasing Japanese and Indonesian Mutual Cooperation Indonesian Human Resources’ Contribution to Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program

Japan is predicted to experience population aging, resulting in slower economic growth and a lack of productive labor. However, Indonesia will experience a demographic bonus as the majority of its population begins to enter productive age, which is accompanied by problems related to unemployment and poverty. This study aims to provide a rationalization regarding the importance of strengthening the relationship between Japan and Indonesia, in light of the above reality. This research adopted a quantitative approach with a descriptive method. The respondents were Indonesian workers in Japan. The conclusions of this research were: 1) sending Indonesian workers to Japan can increase the capacity of Indonesian human resources, including the internship alumni who return to Indonesia. The internship alumni have several career options, such as doing business in the community or independently, as well as continuing to work in Japan through Toukutei Gino (specified skilled workers) or working in Indonesia for certain companies; 2) social interaction between Indonesian workers and Japanese people is a vehicle for acculturation culture as a socio-cultural reality; 3) working in Japan is an alternative route to strengthening the legal literacy of Indonesian citizens, who understand and imitate the good manners of Japanese society through their behavior.