At first glance, the discretionary work system looks like a dream come true in terms of work-life balance. On closer inspection, though, it has the potential to be a worker's nightmare.

Having just suffered a string of painful losses, this month I will explore compassionate leave (kibiki kyūka), the days you take off in Japan after the death of a close family member.

During the early hours of Tuesday, Dec. 12, Tozen Union member Ryan Smith (aka Jon Doe) took his own life. He was 37.

In the TBS drama "Rikuo," female factory workers work all hours — some of them unpaid — to make a new type of running shoe.

The ruling in the NS Solutions case should say a lot about where Japan stands now on the issue of sexual harassment, nearly three decades after the first ruling on this issue.

I think many people hold the following preconceived notions of what it means to be a physician. Doctors, we believe, are: highly specialized (and only a few can become MDs) have high social status and income have a noble mission to protect human health ...

The government has been pushing job-juggling lately, but I have reason to believe that its interests lie not with workers' health and security.

It's midnight at the convenience store I often patronize near my home in Tokyo's central Shinjuku district. The store's open all day and night, 365 days a year. There is one man I've seen quite a bit of lately — behind the counter, stocking shelves, ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, long the champion of labor law deregulation, last year announced it was time to place a legally binding upper limit on overtime hours.

A recent survey corroborates the stereotype many folks have of the Japanese worker: In short, their work is endless and breaks are few and far between.