Tag - labor-laws

 
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September 13, 2025
 

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LABOR LAWS

JAPAN / Society / EXPLAINER
Dec 23, 2016
Overwork deaths put spotlight on Japan's 'black companies'
The Japanese have no clear term to describe the concept of work-life balance, but they do have one to describe the notion of dying for your company: karoshi.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Nov 27, 2016
'Five-year rule' triggers 'Tohoku college massacre' of jobs
I have discussed the "five-year rule" several times before in this column — the revision of the Labor Contract Law (Rodo Keiyaku Ho) enacted in 2013. Under the amendment, any worker employed on serial fixed-term contracts (yūki koyō) for more than five years can give themselves permanent status....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 20, 2016
When it comes to qualifying for paid leave in Japan, continuous employment matters most
A reader writes to Lifelines with yet another question about a perennial topic of concern, paid leave.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2016
Record 5,803 foreign trainees went missing in Japan last year
Observers say this is another sign that the technical intern program — long criticized by rights groups at home and abroad as akin to slavery — is seriously flawed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 26, 2016
Ministry eyes Scandinavian plan to boost paternity leave and keep women working
A panel mulls including a quota system in a two-year parental leave plan that would require paternity leave to join.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 21, 2016
Lower House committee passes bill to shake up Japan's foreign trainee program
The bill is intended to shake up a state-sponsored foreign traineeship program slammed by critics as akin to modern slavery.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2016
1 in 4 firms in Japan say workers log over 80 overtime hours a month
The nation's first white paper on “karoshi” finds nearly a quarter of companies have employees that are seriously overworked.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Sep 18, 2016
'Same work, same pay' principle doesn't stop at 60
Recently, the Tokyo Public Law Office has seen a surge in inquiries similar to the following:
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Aug 21, 2016
The flip side of coveted public-sector jobs in Japan: fewer rights
Laws restrict government workers' constitutional rights to organize, bargain and take collective action.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jul 24, 2016
A week’s worth of questions about paid leave
This month, a week of questions about paid leave. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the issue, and their answers.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2016
Japan short of 'minimum' standards on human trafficking: U.S. State Department
The U.S. State Department on Friday credited Japan with making "modestly increased" efforts against human trafficking in 2015, including the identification of some labor-trafficking victims for the first time in two decades.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jun 26, 2016
'Same work, same pay' goal may spark a race to the bottom
Without details on how to bridge the chasm that divides irregular and regular workers, PM Abe's target is hot air.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 15, 2016
Japan's dispatched ALTs struggle without a safety net
In late March, 65 English assistant language teachers, or ALTs, effectively lost their jobs after dispatch agency Interac lost a contract with the Sapporo Board of Education.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 31, 2016
Study faults Japan for inaction on modern-day slavery
Almost 46 million people are trapped in modern-day slavery, two-thirds of them in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a study released Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
May 22, 2016
Do Japan's porn actresses and actors have labor rights?
An engrossing five-hour defense of the adult-movie business by its practitioners fails to tell the full story.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 22, 2016
Teacher seeks advice on sick leave and contract nonrenewal
A reader writes to Lifelines about difficulties he is dealing with at work.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Apr 24, 2016
Shakai hoken shake-up will open up pensions for some but close door on benefits for others
Law will enable some workers to join the employees' health and pension insurance system but will legally freeze out many more.
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2016
Laboring to reduce overtime
The Abe administration needs to find an effective way to reduce Japan's chronically long work hours.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2016
IBM Japan loses lawsuit over faulty dismissal
The Tokyo District Court nullifies the dismissals of five IBM Japan employees and orders the company to pay their lost salaries following another 'abuse of power.'
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Mar 27, 2016
Bearded train driver, out-of-pocket teacher and CV faker: How would they fare in court?
A look at three shiny new news items from the gossip columns that take on a different sheen when examined under the piercing light of labor law.
Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Thousands without power in Tokyo as heavy rain batters Kanto region
Heavy rain hit Tokyo and surrounding areas Thursday afternoon, causing thousands to lose power, prompting flood warnings, grounding flights and causing transportation issues.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
JAL reprimand over drunken pilots adds to airline’s woes
Japan Airlines President Mitsuko Tottori (right) bows in apology Wednesday in Tokyo over the company's pilots causing flight delays due to drinking alcohol.
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
Aging Japan’s centenarian population nears 100,000
Shigeko Kagawa, Japan's oldest person at 114, in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, on July 30
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.
Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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