RRI.CO.ID, Tangerang - The Banten Provincial Administration and the Mie Prefectural Parliament of Japan are exploring a strategic partnership focused on human resource (HR) development as part of an initiative to establish a formal sister province relationship.

Following preliminary discussions in May 2025, Banten Governor Andra Soni hosted the Japanese delegation led by Mie Prefectural Parliament Chairman Inagaki Akiyoshi in South Tangerang on Monday, August 3, 2026. During the visit, officials toured the industrial practical training spaces at the Banten Industrial Job Training Center (BLKI) in North Serpong to showcase local workforce capabilities.

Banten authorities emphasized that pairing workforce skill development with investment facilitation will encourage Japanese firms to invest in the province, particularly in alignment with national industrial downstreaming policies.

Provincial executive leaders and department heads affirmed that upgrading vocational training to match Japanese industrial standards will maximize Banten's large productive-age population.

Banten Governor Andra Soni outlined the province's openness to foreign investment and international partnerships. "We showcased our training facilities, and we will move step-by-step toward achieving sister province status, we will facilitate investors from Mie Prefecture to enter Banten Province. Banten is very open to investment, especially investments aligned with presidential directives, particularly in industrial downstreaming," he said in Tangerang on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

Head of the Banten Investment and One-Stop Integrated Services Agency (DPMPTSP), Virgojanti, highlighted the mutual benefit of workforce collaboration.

"The Mie Parliament delegation responded very positively, with a core focus on developing human resources, moving forward, business cooperation between Banten and Mie Prefecture will likely expand, supported by Banten's abundant productive-age workforce," Virgojanti noted.

Head of the Banten Manpower Agency (Disnaker), Septo Kalnadi, addressed the technical and cultural preparations for workers. The challenge is keeping pace with modern machinery used by current industries, alongside helping Indonesian workers adapt to cultural nuances in Japan, such as language and daily habits.

"We also have a larger training facility in Pandeglang Regency that can be tailored to meet specific industrial skill requirements for Mie Prefecture, supported by comprehensive pre-deployment training," Septo explained. ***