While Japanese investment is soaring in Cambodia, Japanese employers say there is a shortage of Japanese-speaking staff available to fill the demand.

Sakuji Imataki, President of SWANY (Cambodia) Corp, located in Svay Rieng province near the Vietnamese border, said at the Japanese Companies Job Fair in Phnom Penh on Tuesday that not only was the pool of Japanese-speaking workers small, but those who were available preferred to work in the capital.

“Getting [Japanese speaking] staff is difficult, especially in Svay Rieng, because Phnom Penh has a lot of Japanese companies and factories,” he said, adding that options for Japanese classes are few.

Kong Solina, assistant to the manager of the Service and Culture Department of the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC), said the purpose of the job fair was to “recruit staff to serve Japanese companies who are investing in Cambodia”.

Japanese investment reached $328 million last year, up from $72 million in 2011.