Tag - overwork

 
 

OVERWORK

Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida said he has no lingering physical complications after his hospital stay.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 11, 2024
SDF chief of staff returns to work
Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida was diagnosed as overworked in mid-February, when he sought medical attention over a fever and illness.
A truck transporting a container parked outside a shipping terminal in Yokohama.
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2024
Japan approves bill to improve labor conditions for truck drivers
The revisions intend to tackle a labor shortage in the logistics industry, known as the "2024 problem."
A Japan Post delivery truck. Certain parcels will take longer to arrive under changes set to begin in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024
Japan Post announces delayed timeframes for express deliveries
The changes come as part of an effort to cope with stricter regulations on truck drivers’ working hours.
Salmon on sale in Sapporo on Dec. 1. The region has been hit hard by a Chinese ban on Japanese seafood products following the release into the ocean of treated, tritium-laced water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 15, 2023
Hokkaido to face issues around Rapidus, seafood and '2024 problem'
An influx of foreign residents is expected in Chitose, while China's ban on marine products continues to hurt the region.
Shingo Takashima, a 26-year-old doctor, killed himself three months into his specialty doctor training at a general hospital in Kobe.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Dec 13, 2023
Young doctor’s suicide highlights overwork culture at Japan hospitals
The issue is coming into sharper focus ahead of the April implementation of a legal cap on doctors’ overtime.
The talent agency formerly known as Johnny & Associates announced it would change its name after acknowledging the long history of abuse company founder Johnny Kitagawa inflicted on young men. The news was followed by the removal of company signage bearing Kitagawa’s name.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Dec 2, 2023
The entertainment story of the year is long overdue
As entertainment heavyweights Johnny & Associates and Takarazuka Revue are hit by scandals, hope for reform emerges with changing attitudes toward abuse.
Lanterns with messages at a "memorial service" for unused paid leave in Osaka in December 2019
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2023
Japanese workers took 62% of the paid leave they were given in 2022
While the total ratio was a record high, the results showed the government still has a considerable way to go if it hopes to achieve its goal of 70%.
Takarazuka Grand Theater in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2023
Scandal-hit Takarazuka to set up experts panel to improve culture
Japan's all-female theater troupe Takarazuka Revue will set up a panel of experts possibly by year-end as it seeks to improve its corporate culture.
Kenshi Koba, chairman of the Takarazuka theater group, bows his head in apology during a news conference in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 14, 2023
No link to bullying in Takarazuka theater actress's suicide: panel
Although there was no evidence of harassment in the all-female musical theater troupe, the actress was most likely under immense pressure, the panel said.
Hiroshi Kawahito, a lawyer representing the bereaved family of a 25-year-old actress who was with the Takarazuka Revue theater company, speaks during a news conference on Friday in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2023
Japan theater actress' suicide due to overwork and bullying: lawyer
Bereaved family members are demanding an apology and compensation from the Takarazuka Revue all-female musical theater company.
Japan's latest report on death by overwork delves into the amount of sleep both self-employed and corporate workers are getting and how that affects workers' health.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 13, 2023
Report on overwork highlights Japan's work-life balance issues
Over 90% of self-employed and corporate workers in Japan feel they need at least six hours of sleep, but only about half are getting it, the report said.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (front left) inspects a shipping company in Tokyo's Ota Ward in September.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2023
Japan to give shopping points to promote outside door delivery
The project is the centerpiece of the government's emergency policy package to address a looming shortage of truck drivers due to tighter overtime caps.
A survey by a health ministry research team has found that a significant proportion of doctors in Japan are at risk of death from overwork.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 29, 2023
Around 20% of doctors in Japan at risk of death from overwork
A survey showed that 20.4% of full-time doctors worked over 60 hours per week, exceeding the weekly legal working hours of 40 hours.
An advisory panel for the education minister has proposed a plan to check classroom hours at all public elementary and junior high schools as part of working style reform for teachers.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2023
Japan plans to monitor classroom hours to cut burden on teachers
Schools where annual lesson periods significantly exceed the standard under the guidelines should cut the excess from the next fiscal year.
Education ministry officials say long working hours is one of the factors behind a rise in the number of teachers quitting their jobs.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 15, 2023
Record number of teachers quit for mental health reasons in 2021
Education ministry officials say long working hours is one of the factors behind the rise.
Junior high school students participate in a community-based club activity without any instructors in Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Aug 15, 2023
Facing long hours, teacher pushes for data-driven reforms
Given the long working hours for Japan's schoolteachers, one educator from Gifu Prefecture is leading initiatives for teachers’ work-style reforms.
The image of schools as exploitive workplaces where labor regulations are habitually flouted is seen as the biggest factor putting off job applicants for teaching positions.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 14, 2023
Japan panel weighs raising overtime pay for teachers
The government is set to discuss an increase in overtime pay for teachers in a bid to compensate them for long working hours and attract new applicants.
Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura attends a ceremony marking the first minting of a commemorative coin for the expo with the event's mascot, Myaku-Myaku, in Osaka on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 10, 2023
Three hurdles stand between Osaka Expo and 2025 opening
Broadly speaking, the expo faces three high hurdles in its dash toward the finish line, and having everything ready for the April 13, 2025, opening.
The education ministry plans to take steps toward reducing teacher workload, such as by asking schools to cut classroom hours.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2023
Japan eyes cutting back excess classroom hours
Some schools are also adding support staff for routine tasks or hiring private-sector employees to manage extracurricular activities.
The artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay, a venue for the 2025 Osaka Expo
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2023
Osaka Expo asks for overtime cap exemption as time pressure mounts
The move comes as the expo faces mounting concerns that construction, especially of pavilions for foreign nations, will not be completed on time for the scheduled opening in April 2025.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world