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July 05, 2025
 

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LABOR LAWS

COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 3, 2020
With the coronavirus canceling classes, what are English teachers to do?
ALTs and English-language school employees are reporting confusion over what role their employers should play in a possible pandemic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2019
Old habits die hard: Japan still struggling with push toward working style reform
Older managers are failing to recognize changing expectations among a younger workforce.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Help Wanted?
Dec 29, 2019
Student's death reveals dark side of Bhutan-Japan exchange program
A year has passed since the lifeless body of a Bhutanese exchange student was discovered hanging from a tree in a public park in Fukuoka.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2019
Seven-Eleven Japan failed to pay at least ¥490 million in overtime over several decades
A long-running error in the Seven & I Holdings Co. unit's calculations for such workers led to the shortfall for payments to part-time staff, sources said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2019
Diet passes bill giving teachers more holiday but longer work hours during busy periods
As part of work style reforms, the Diet enacted a bill Wednesday to introduce a new working-hour system that will enable public school teachers to take extended holidays.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2019
Against the tide, cocoa growers plan to suspend ethical programs
In a world that is growing increasingly concerned about corporate commitments to environmental and social responsibility, top cocoa producers Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana are planning to make a move that goes against the tide.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2019
New ranking finds major chocolate companies flunked child labor scorecard
Major chocolate companies such as Godiva, Lindt and Hershey are failing to keep child labor out of their supply chains, according to a new ranking by activists released Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2019
Action taken against 112 firms last year for abuses under Japan's foreign intern training program
With cases of abuse ranging from trainees forced to pay illegal deposits to an intern who was forced to work 225 hours of overtime in a month, authorities last year took disciplinary action against 112 firms using the state-sponsored Technical Intern Training Program.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Sep 16, 2019
Japan paternity leave suit spotlights workers' rights
A male employee is suing sportswear maker Asics Corp. for alleged mistreatment after taking paternity leave, a case that has cast a spotlight on gender equality and workers' rights in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2019
Ministry says Recruit Career acted illegally in Rikunabi data scandal and demands corrective steps
The labor ministry said Friday it had issued administrative guidance to Recruit Career Co. for selling to its clients web browsing data predicting the odds of job-hunting students declining informal job offers, without the students' consent.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 9, 2019
Record 5,160 firms employing foreign trainees in Japan violated labor laws in 2018, ministry says
A record 5,160 business facilities employing foreign technical intern trainees were told in 2018 to correct practices that violated labor-related laws, the labor ministry has said.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2019
Scandal-hit Yoshimoto Kogyo urged to sign written contracts with its 6,000 entertainers
Scandal-hit artists' agency Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. is being urged to exchange written contracts with the comedians, actors and athletes on its books.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Aug 2, 2019
Job security eludes Japan's growing ranks of post-doctorate part-time lecturers
Yosuke Amaike, 39, spends a busy week juggling work at four different schools, where he works as a part-time instructor.
Japan Times
CULTURE
May 8, 2019
Younger animators still struggling amid anime boom
By all outward appearances, Japan's animation industry is thriving. A recent report by The Association for Japanese Animations indicates the industry's worth as a whole topped over ¥2 trillion in 2017 — a new record. International streaming services like Netflix and Crunchyroll have begun producing...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
May 8, 2019
Japan's labor shortage eats away at backbreaking work culture
When she worked in sales for a bank, Chihiro Narazaki was passed over for the best assignments in favor of older colleagues. Her input was discouraged and she often stayed late just to do routine paperwork.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Apr 10, 2019
Two English teachers stand up for their rights and win — a valuable lesson for anyone working in Japan
The closure of 51 Coco Juku eikaiwa (English conversation) schools in Japan last week, with more to come in June, illustrates just how unstable the English teaching market can be. Companies that used to provide fairly well-paying jobs are now, in many cases, restructuring them into something that resembles...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Apr 10, 2019
Know your rights as a language teacher
Dennis Tesolat is chair of the General Union based in Osaka. Founded in 1991, the organization is part of a national private sector trade union known as Zenkoku-Ippan (the National Union of General Workers), which belongs to a confederation known as Zenrokyo (National Trade Union Council).
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2019
Probe reveals 759 cases of suspected abuse and 171 deaths of foreign trainees in Japan
The Justice Ministry's probe into the Technical Intern Training Program confirms growing concerns about a link between the trainees' working conditions and their growing disappearances from companies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / EXPLAINER
Mar 28, 2019
Government bill on power harassment takes aim at Japan's workplace woes
A supervisor berates employees as slackers and incompetents. A president taunts, punches and forces a worker to write a letter of resignation — leading the employee to commit suicide. A whistle-blower exposes an illegal cartel, only to be banished and given mundane tasks to perform for over 20 years....
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2019
Tea label giants vow probe after Sri Lanka labor abuse expose
Plantations in Sri Lanka that supply "slavery-free" tea to top global companies are under investigation by ethical label groups after an expose found illegal wage deductions that have left some workers ill and unable to afford health care.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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