Tag - labor-laws

 
 

LABOR LAWS

A recent decision by a labor office marks a rare case in which a work-related illness has been officially attributed to remote work.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2024
Yokohama remote worker awarded compensation for work-related mental disorder
The woman developed an adjustment disorder from working overtime excessively, clocking over 100 hours a month in the months leading to her diagnosis.
Under the revised labor standards law, annual overtime will be capped at 960 hours for truck drivers and 720 hours for construction workers.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2024
New work-style reform measures kick off in Japan
It is feared the new caps will cause shortages of workers, making it difficult to maintain services.
Those who are planning to move to new homes are finding themselves either struggling to make a reservation or facing increasingly higher costs.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2024
Japan's moving companies struggle to meet demand amid driver shortage
Charges have increased, even doubled, during the March-April peak moving season as a regulation capping overtime hours for drivers kicks in.
Beyond factors such as the "motherhood penalty," Japanese women struggle to advance in their careers due to the structure of the workforce, including the two-tiered clerical versus managerial track.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024
Why is it taking so long to break the glass ceiling?
Japan isn't unique in having a thick glass ceiling, but some factors don't apply to other countries, like the U.S., where many more managers are women.
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.
Disney characters perform on a float during a parade at Tokyo Disneyland in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 26, 2023
Court rejects damages claim by ex-Tokyo Disneyland performer
The former performer said she had suffered work-related injuries and that the company had failed to fulfill its duty of care.
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.
Some of the most popular influencers can amass small fortunes before they're 18, but there are few legal protections to ensure their earnings remain their own.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 12, 2023
Child influencers make big money. Who gets it?
"I’m terrified to share my name because a digital footprint I had no control over exists."
A self-employed Amazon Japan delivery driver (right) who was deemed eligible for workers' compensation holds a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 5, 2023
Amazon Japan delivery driver eligible for workers' compensation
The outcome could clear the way for other self-employed Amazon delivery drivers to be eligible for compensation and could impact other industries.
Two Japan Sumo Association officials have been sanctioned.
SUMO
Oct 1, 2023
Sumo association officials punished over harassment claims
The association will suspend Tetsuji Miyata, its administrative affairs chief, for one month, and demote the head of the office in charge of accounting.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits a logistics company in Tokyo's Ota Ward on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Sep 28, 2023
What is Japan's so-called 2024 problem?
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is turning his attention to a looming challenge: a shortage of truck drivers.
Koichi Hagiuda (center), the policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, visits a dispatching agency for foreign trainees in Hanoi and talks to students there last month.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2023
Illegal practices found at 7,247 firms employing foreign trainees
The most common violations involved breaches of safety rules, with the second most common being unpaid wages.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2023
Education ministry alarmed by teachers' long working hours
In the education, science and technology white paper for fiscal 2022, which ended in March this year, the ministry stressed that reducing hours is an urgent task.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2023
Government draws up measures to tackle expected 2024 logistics crunch
Large consignors and logistics companies have been asked to submit improvement plans that will ease burdens on truck drivers ahead of a new legal limit on their overtime from April 2024.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 29, 2023
Tokyo court upholds dismissal of worker at Diamond Princess operator
The former employee of Carnival Japan claimed that the company had not made sufficient efforts to avoid the dismissal of workers, including through using government subsidies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2023
Yoshinoya may tap retirees as drivers when overtime cap hits transport industry
The plan comes amid the Japanese logistics industry's so-called 2024 problem, an expected truck driver shortage due to revised overtime rules.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2023
Japan's logisticians brace for expected driver shortages
The logistics world is worried about holdups in operations, while new restrictions on overtime may deliver a further blow to an industry already short on truck drivers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2023
Google Japan workers form labor union amid fears of job cuts
Members of the union told a reporters on Thursday that they are demanding that Google Japan enter negotiations with the union this month.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 27, 2023
Are ‘white’ companies proving to be too much of a good thing for Japan's Gen Z?
'Black' companies are places of excess: excess overtime, excess chores — not excess pay! And the best way to express the idea of 'too much' in Japanese is with the verb-suffix 'sugiru.'

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on