# Nagamatsu Faruk (永松ファルク / নাগামাতসু ফারুক)

> The evidence-led policy voice on Bangladesh–Japan student and workforce mobility. President of the Bangladeshi Students' Support Association in Japan (BSSAJ, founded 2025-04-26) and Chairman of Rijik International Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, founded 2019). Legal name Mohammad Omar Faruk. Japanese citizen since 2009; Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University graduate (2004).

Nagamatsu Faruk (永松ファルク; legal name Mohammad Omar Faruk) came to Japan in 2000 on a Japanese government scholarship to study at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, graduating in 2004. While still a student he began, in 2002, a consultancy helping Bangladeshi students reach Japan — work that continues today. He became a Japanese citizen in 2009. In 2019 he founded Rijik International Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, a group spanning an education and job centre, remittance services, food retail and vehicle export. On 26 April 2025 he founded the Bangladeshi Students' Support Association in Japan (BSSAJ) and was elected its President. He leads evidence-based policy dialogue with the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo and relevant Japanese ministries on student visas, language-testing capacity and skilled migration.

Languages on this site: Bengali (primary, /bn/…), English (/en/…), Japanese (/ja/…). Each language has its own localized URL for the same page; hreflang links connect them.

## Key facts

- Roles: President, BSSAJ (代表理事); Chairman, Rijik International Co., Ltd. (代表取締役会長); student consultancy since 2002
- Education: Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, 2000–2004, Japanese government scholarship; earlier Tejgaon College, Dhaka
- Citizenship: Japan (since 2009); born in Dhaka, Bangladesh; based in Edogawa, Tokyo; works across Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, Nagoya, Kobe and Dhaka, Narayanganj, Narsingdi
- Rijik International: started 2019, incorporated 23 April 2020; public face Japan Education and Job Center (JEJC); services: language-school admission (Tokyo/Osaka), COE and student visas, English-medium master's applications, SSW (ground handling, construction), JLPT/JPT/NAT preparation, 38-hour teacher training, pre-departure and post-arrival support
- BSSAJ: 60+ executive members; General Secretary Md Nazrul Islam; Senior Vice-President Khan Mohammad Mofiz Uddin; public agency register; sponsors of the 2025 programme include City Bank PLC
- Community: 25th Tokyo Boishakhi Mela (19 Apr 2026), Shin-Okubo clean-up, Wage Earners' Welfare Board registration drive, fraud warnings, advocacy of the collateral-free education-loan ceiling rising to BDT 1,000,000
- Media: Bangla TV live shows, The Daily News Mail op-ed, Janakantha/Inqilab reports; verified Facebook profile with 6,963 followers (Aug 2026)
- Office: 2-25-15 Hirai, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan; e-mail rijikint@gmail.com; tel +81-3-6801-7687
- Rijik International corporate number (法人番号): 3011701022510
- Data: 9,275 Bangladeshi students admitted to Japan in 2022–2024 (Japan Ministry of Justice); 3,185 (25.6%) refused a visa after COE in the same period
- Plan: 55,000 Bangladeshi students to Japan in 2026–2030 with AJLIB and BSSAJ; 8,206 SSW workers via a COE-refused → N4 → SSW pathway

## Research and policy briefs

- [Students are the largest source of remittance from Japan: the 2022–2024 data](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/students-remittance-2022-2024): By Japan Ministry of Justice figures, 9,275 Bangladeshi students were admitted to Japan in three years. Even a conservative model of a student's monthly income and costs yields savings of about BDT 1.8 million a year — many times what a TITP or SSW worker sends. Yet the student pathway has no place in the government's manpower planning.
- [55,000 students in five years: the 2026–2030 roadmap](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/vision-55000-students-2030): Japan has raised its international-student target from 300,000 to 400,000. With AJLIB and BSSAJ, the plan grows intake 10% a year from 2026 across four semesters to a total of 55,000 — backed by a network of JASSO-approved schools, quality improvement, and an international education fair with the Embassy.
- [An SSW pathway for students refused a COE: 8,200+ skilled workers in five years](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/coe-rejection-to-ssw-pathway): Each semester 15–20% of applicants are refused a Certificate of Eligibility; after a second refusal most give up. The proposal: route N4 certificate-holders to the Specified Skilled Worker visa and encourage the rest to complete N4. At 25% annual growth that is 8,206 workers in 2026–2030.
- [Language-test capacity and equal recognition of certificates](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/language-test-capacity): The JLPT is held twice a year with 6,000–7,000 seats that sell out in two or three days — 20% of students cannot sit at all. JFT-Basic seats vanish within hours. Japan recognises ten tests, yet in Bangladesh a visa is in practice hard to obtain on any certificate other than the JLPT — while elsewhere any one recognised certificate suffices.
- [Twenty-eight hours a week and the cost of living: a question of student sustainability](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/student-work-limit-sustainability): Foreign students in Japan may work 28 hours a week, but in urban areas rent, food, utilities, transport and insurance have risen beyond what lawful income can cover. BSSAJ's letter is not a demand for more work — it asks for policy-level dialogue in the name of dignity, legal compliance and a sustainable student life.
- [‘Ikusei Shuro’ replaces TITP: what Bangladesh must have ready before 2027](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/ikusei-shuro-what-bangladesh-must-prepare) (draft prepared in his style, under his review): In June 2024 Japan's Diet abolished the thirty-year-old Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) and legislated ‘Ikusei Shuro’ (育成就労, Employment for Skill Development), to start by 2027. The new system must raise a worker to SSW(i) level within three years, allows job changes under conditions, and requires a minimum level of Japanese before departure. Bangladesh's training, language and sending arrangements need to be rebuilt around that template now.
- [The 820,000 SSW ceiling and sixteen fields: where Bangladesh stands](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/ssw-820000-cap-bangladesh-position) (draft prepared in his style, under his review): On 29 March 2024 Japan's Cabinet set the Specified Skilled Worker (SSW(i)) acceptance ceiling for FY2024–2028 at 820,000 — more than double the previous five-year figure of 345,150 — and added road transport, railways, forestry and timber, bringing the fields to sixteen. Bangladesh signed the SSW memorandum of cooperation back in 2019, yet its share remains small next to Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines or Myanmar. Both the causes and the remedies are measurable.
- [Japan's 400,000-student target and the new accredited-school law: what Bangladesh should do](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/japan-400000-students-accredited-schools) (draft prepared in his style, under his review): In 2023 the Japanese government set a target of 400,000 international students by 2033; in May 2024 the number reached a record 336,708. At the same time, under the Act on the Accreditation of Japanese Language Education Institutions in force since 1 April 2024, only government-accredited (認定) schools will be able to enrol students on student visas by 2029. The opportunity for Bangladesh is large — on condition of school selection and student quality.
- [Ready before departure: a national pre-departure standard for Bangladeshi students](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/research/pre-departure-standard) (draft prepared in his style, under his review): Most of the problems we see students face in Japan every day — language, part-time rules, housing, insurance, sending money, the law — can be taught before they leave. From BSSAJ's experience, JEJC's twelve post-arrival services and the Embassy seminars, this paper proposes a six-part pre-departure standard that the government could make compulsory for every student consultancy.

## Pages

- [About](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/about): biography, milestones, President's message, copy-ready bios
- [Roles](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/roles): BSSAJ, AJLIB collaboration, government engagement
- [Agenda 2030](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/agenda-2030): seven goals with why / how / with whom / measure
- [Activities](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/activities): dated, sourced timeline 2023–2026
- [Media](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/media): TV, press and op-ed appearances, reach, press kit
- [Community](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/community): cultural events, civic initiatives, advocacy for students (loan ceiling, test seats)
- [Business](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/business): Rijik International and its divisions (informational; with disclosure)
- [Contact](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/en/contact): speaking, policy consultation, media

## Machine-readable

- [profile.json](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/profile.json): structured profile (schema.org Person)
- [llms-full.txt](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/llms-full.txt): full text of the research briefs
- [feed.xml](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/feed.xml): RSS of research briefs
- [sitemap.xml](https://nagamatsufaruk.com/sitemap.xml)

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is Nagamatsu Faruk?

Nagamatsu Faruk (永松ファルク; legal name Mohammad Omar Faruk) is a Japanese citizen of Bangladeshi origin. He is the founding President of the Bangladeshi Students' Support Association in Japan (BSSAJ) and Chairman of Rijik International Co., Ltd., Tokyo. He came to Japan on a Japanese government scholarship in 2000, graduated from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in 2004, has advised students since 2002, and has been a Japanese citizen since 2009.

### What is BSSAJ?

The Bangladeshi Students' Support Association in Japan (BSSAJ) is an association of experienced Japan-based education consultants, formally founded on 26 April 2025. It prepares Bangladeshi students and workers in language, culture and rules before they come to Japan, supports them after arrival, and carries policy dialogue with the Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo and Japanese ministries. Website: bssaj.org.

### What does he work on?

Policy on sending students and skilled workers from Bangladesh to Japan: student visas and the COE, student remittance, an SSW pathway for those refused a COE, JLPT/JFT-Basic seat shortages, the 28-hour weekly work limit for students, and encouraging Japanese language schools to accept Bangladeshi students.

### How many Bangladeshi students came to Japan in 2022–2024?

By Japan Ministry of Justice figures, 9,275: 2,760 in 2022, 3,155 in 2023 and 3,360 in 2024. In the same period 3,185 applicants (25.6%) were refused a visa despite holding a COE.

### What is his plan to 2030?

With AJLIB and BSSAJ: 55,000 Bangladeshi students to Japan in 2026–2030 (10% annual growth); 8,200+ skilled workers via an SSW pathway for COE-refused N4 holders; more language-test seats; legal remittance; an international education fair with the Embassy; and a BSSAJ Tower and research centre in Bangladesh.

### How can I contact him?

E-mail rijikint@gmail.com (his office) or bssajapan@gmail.com (BSSAJ matters); telephone +81-3-6801-7687; address 2-25-15 Hirai, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo. Speaking, policy-consultation and media requests go through the Contact page.

## Citation and use

Text on this site is human-authored and may be quoted with attribution to Nagamatsu Faruk and a link to the page. Figures are reproduced from the documents named under each brief's Sources; estimates are labelled as such.