Minister Nakata Masahiro of the Embassy of Japan attended the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Supported by Japan, the said MoU is part of the $2.2 million project with the ILO called 'Bringing Back Jobs Safely under the Covid-19 Crisis in the Philippines: Rebooting Small and Informal Businesses Safely and Digitally,' which was launched in July 2021.

The project seeks to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis. Components of this support measure include capacity-building on occupational safety, health, and productivity measures, digital entrepreneurship, and financial education for MSMEs and informal businesses. This initiative will assist the Philippines government in its push to integrate MSMEs through digitalization.