NEWSWORTHY
Many Japanese firms turning to one-day internships to secure new grads
To secure new graduates in buyers' market, an increasing number of companies are introducing one-day internship programs for job-hunting students. This is because Keidanren, (Japan Business Federation), the nation's biggest business lobby, has scrapped the five-day minimum for member firms' internship programs aimed at students ...
Nissan probe finds misuse of foreign trainees at plants in Japan
An internal probe by Nissan Motor Co. has discovered misconduct at its plants over the employment of foreign trainees, including forcing them to perform jobs not sanctioned under a government program, a company official said Wednesday. The internal probe found that 45 interns from Indonesia ...
Japan to promote five-day workweek for construction workers hired for public works projects
The government plans to promote a five-day workweek for construction workers involved in public works projects as part of its work-style reform initiative, informed sources say. Construction workers tend to work more than five days a week because many are under pressure to complete projects ...
Internship organizer faces charges for skimming Vietnamese students' wages
A group that organizes internships for foreign students will likely be investigated for allegedly skimming ¥3 million from the salaries of Vietnamese hospitality workers in Fukui and Ishikawa prefectures.
Ramen chain Ichiran faces charges for allegedly working foreign students longer than permitted
Police are set to refer ramen chain Ichiran and some of its managerial staff to prosecutors this week for allegedly breaking the immigration law by forcing foreign students to work illegally long hours at two stores in Osaka, investigative sources said Monday. Ichiran, founded in ...
Abe administration to remove contentious proposal from draft labor reform bill
The drastic policy compromise appears to be intended to minimize damage ahead of a critical leadership election in September.
Amazon's labor-tracking wristband has a history
In another revelation, labor minister Katsunobu Kato confirmed original response papers used in the survey — which he previously claimed had been discarded — were found in a basement at the ministry.
Seven & I to try flexible shifts to improve productivity, limit overtime
Retail giant Seven & I Holdings Co. plans to give employees the option of choosing to start work at 8 a.m., 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. instead of fixing the time for all employees at 9 a.m., company officials said. The company hopes the added ...
Over half of Japan firms have no plans to raise base pay this year
More than half of Japan's companies do not plan to raise base pay in annual wage talks in coming months, a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Keidanren, who have called for wage rises of 3 percent to fuel an economic revival. In a ...
70% of firms pinched by labor shortages, Finance Ministry survey says
As Japan's economy picks up speed, 70 percent of its companies are facing labor shortages, a recent Finance Ministry survey suggests. According to the survey results released Wednesday, 71 percent of responding companies said they feel manpower shortages and 67 percent said they experienced shortages ...
An organization that supervises foreign trainees brought to Japan under the Technical Intern Training Program attempted to pressure a 25-year-old man from the Philippines to leave his labor union, the union said. The man arrived in Japan in April 2015 and began working at a ...
