With so many university students hungry for part-time jobs to help pay for their studies today, it's an ideal world for unscrupulous companies seeking to cut labor costs. Although times are slowly changing in Japan and the United States, companies still hold a decidedly upper hand.
The recent first-of-its-kind online survey by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry of 1,000 university and graduate school students in Japan found that about 60 percent were disaffected with working conditions for a variety of reasons, ranging from unpaid overtime to long hours without breaks.
Although labor laws spell out what companies are required to do, not all are in compliance. "Black companies" (burakku baito) are notorious for taking advantage of the precarious situation of desperate students. As a result, their studies suffer.