Tag - labor

 
 

LABOR

EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2016
Equal pay for equal work is fair
The Abe administration is finally trying to address the wage gap between regular and irregular workers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 23, 2016
Forced labor allegations and abuses continue to dog Japan's foreign trainee program
Tang Xili came to Japan in 2013, hoping to earn enough in three years to build a new home for her daughter. Instead, she ended up in a labor union shelter after leaving an employer she says owes her about ¥3.5 million in unpaid wages.
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Feb 6, 2016
Exploitative enterprises continue to menace society
On Dec. 15, the operator of Japanese-style pubs Watami Co. reached a settlement with the parents of a former employee who killed herself due to overwork.
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 / Politics
Jan 22, 2016
Abe indicates pivot toward reduction of wage disparities in policy speech
In a key policy speech for 2016, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledges to promote measures to reduce wage disparities.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jan 6, 2016
For Japan's English teachers, rays of hope amid the race to the bottom
The major economic engines of Japan Inc. — car manufacturers, appliance giants and the like — have often been caught price-fixing: colluding to keep an even market share, squeeze competitors out and maintain "harmony." Similarly, the commercial English-teaching business could be accused of wage-fixing:...
JAPAN / Society / DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES
Jan 6, 2016
Government weighs immigration to maintain population, boost workforce
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September announced administrative measures seeking to maintain a population of at least 100 million people over the next 50 years with a target of significantly raising the fertility rate to 1.8.
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.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 26, 2015
Ripped-off bar hostesses in Japan stand up for their rights
With an increase in nonregular employment driving more women into the night entertainment business, some are turning to labor unions to deal with clubs that try to con them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 16, 2015
As jobs-for-life fade, mobility key as workers face a survival reality check
Shuhei Takebe graduated from a prestigious university in Japan. It qualified him to become a day laborer.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2015
Tightest job market since 1992 may weigh on Japan bonds
The nation's most severe labor shortage in almost quarter of a century will support the central bank's inflation target and weaken appetite for already low-yielding bonds.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2015
Japan unions plan to dial back wage demands by half
A labor group whose members include Toyota Motor Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Panasonic Corp.'s unions said they will seek half the minimum wage increase in 2016 compared with its plans entering this fiscal year.
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?

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’