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May 06, 2024
 

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LABOR PAINS

Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Dec 25, 2016
Worrying times for job security in Japan
The year 2016 was no walk in the park for workers nationwide. At one extreme, we have Matsuri Takahashi, a 24-year-old worker who felt she had no other choice but to take her life as a result of overwork.
Japan Times
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. See my earlier stories for more details, particularly my March 2013 column, "Labor law reform raises rather than relieves workers' worries."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Oct 23, 2016
Time to consign 'death by overwork' to Japan's history
As 'karoshi' continues to steal young lives, workers must stand up for their own rights and watch out for their colleagues' wellbeing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Sep 25, 2016
Sagamihara massacre begs question: Do we want a society that only values usefulness?
The twisted thinking behind Japan's worst postwar massacre may have its roots in the way the modern world teaches us to judge the worth of others.
Japan Times
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 Times
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
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.
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.
Japan Times
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 Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Feb 29, 2016
'Landmark' ruling sent Japan's foreign residents back to welfare limbo
Widely misunderstood 2014 case reaffirmed the decades-old stopgap that means noncitizens can receive support but can't appeal if their application is rejected.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jan 24, 2016
Graduates needn't be hostages to advance contracts
For university seniors who have pledged to work for a firm after graduation, although there is no legal compulsion, there is social and ethical pressure not to back out of the deal.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Dec 27, 2015
Japan's culture and courts need to get with the program on overtime
Practice and precedent fly in the face of government slogans about achieving 'work-life balance' and reducing Japan's excessively long work hours.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Nov 29, 2015
Lessons in Japan's labor laws from striking NPB baseball stars and English teachers
What do Nichibei Eigo Gakuin teachers in 2000, pro baseball players in 2004 and Berlitz language instructors in 2007 have in common?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Oct 25, 2015
In Japan, adultery can cost you your job as well as your marriage
Companies must be able to prove that specific damage has been done to their business if they want to fire cheating workers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Sep 27, 2015
Legal change will make temp purgatory permanent for many Japanese workers
Eight years ago, a TV drama about temporary workers generated a great deal of excitement around Japan. In "Haken no Hinkaku" ("Dignity of a Temp"), model-actress-singer Ryoko Shinohara played Haruko Omae, a "super-temp" who masterfully tackled the myriad troubles that arose in her ¥3,000-an-hour job. Unshakable, aloof and playing by her own rules, she performed better than any of the regular employees, refused all overtime and off-the-clock socialization, and shunned flattery and fake smiles to boot.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Aug 30, 2015
Should SEALDs student activists worry about not getting hired?
Japanese labor law effectively allows companies to discriminate against prospective employees based on their beliefs.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jul 26, 2015
Three amigos on a mission to protect your rights
The only people who tend to know what I'm talking about when I say the words "labor relations commission" are unionists, labor or corporate lawyers and labor-law scholars. These panels are government enforcement bodies that lack the glamour and fame of the courts, the cops and even the Labor Standards Office, and sound about as dull as dish water. This is a shame, because in actual fact, they do some amazing work. Let me explain.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jun 28, 2015
Has striking in Japan become extinct?
"Strike." Dear reader, what do you think when you hear this word? What impression do you get? Do you see the blood, sweat and tears? Do you see an angry, vicious mob disturbing our civil society? I bet a majority of Japanese people under the age of 40 have neither a positive nor negative impression of strikes. They have no impression at all and no idea about what a strike is because strikes have become rarer in modern Japanese society. This, however, hasn't always been the case.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
May 24, 2015
Society helps sustain Japan's sordid sexual trade in schoolgirls
When you hear the expression "JK business," do you have any idea what kind of work this refers to? JK stands for joshi kōsei (high school girls). In Japan, JK is a very powerful brand — and high school girls are a highly valued commodity.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
Japan’s record-low children population weighs on growth
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.

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