New law bans indoor smoking at Japan's government buildings and schools
A new law targeting smoking took effect Monday banning people from lighting up indoors on government agency, school and hospital premises, with more establishments like bars and restaurants to face similar rule changes next year. Under the revised Health Promotion Law, fines of up to ...
Ministry says record 82,797 cases of workplace bullying reported across Japan in fiscal 2018
The labor ministry said Wednesday that a record 82,797 complaints about workplace bullying, including so-called power harassment, were brought to local labor bureaus and other offices for advice and consultation in fiscal 2018 — up 14.9 percent from the preceding year. The total number of ...
Group files petition to ban dress codes in Japan requiring women to wear high heels at work
A group fighting gender-based workplace discrimination submitted a petition to the labor ministry calling for a ban on dress codes that force women to wear high heels at work. The petition bearing 18,856 signatures was presented Monday by Yumi Ishikawa, the leader of the group ...
Japan to tighten checks on South Korean fishery products in apparent Fukushima ban tit-for-tat
The health ministry said Thursday that it will strengthen inspections on flatfish and some other fishery products from South Korea starting Saturday. The ministry characterized the measure as an effort to safeguard the health of Japanese people ahead of summer, when food poisoning cases tend ...
Tepco cautioned about employing foreign workers at Fukushima nuclear plant under new visa system
The government on Tuesday urged the operator of the disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to carefully examine the firm's plan to have non-Japanese work at the complex under a new visa program, citing difficulties in managing long-term health risks. "It is necessary to give ...
Following a recent spate of accidents in which children have been killed, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday instructed ministers to ensure road safety for preschoolers. Abe also called for measures featuring advanced technology such as automatic braking systems to enhance the safety of vehicles ...
Employment rate for Japan's college graduates close to record high at 97.6% amid labor shortage
Demand remained strong among companies on the back of the labor shortage, an education ministry official said.
Japan health ministry issues alert about libido-enhancing and slimming products on foreign websites
Most of the so-called supplements for sexual enhancement or slimming sold on overseas websites for Japanese consumers contain medical substances that may damage the user's health, according to tests performed in a recent study by the health ministry. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said ...
Japanese health ministry to urge hospitals to enhance disaster preparedness
The ministry will push all hospitals designated as disaster response medical centers to stock enough fuel to run their power generators for at least three days.
Number of people with disabilities working at Japanese firms tops 500,000 for first time
The number of people with disabilities working at private-sector companies in Japan as of June 1 last year topped 500,000 for the first time, a survey by the labor ministry has showed. The number of workers with disabilities increased 7.9 percent from the previous year ...
Japan's jobless rate in February fell to 2.3%, lowest in nine months
The unemployment rate fell to 2.3 percent in February, the lowest in nine months, as women who quit jobs to look for better work the previous month landed positions amid the tightest labor market in decades, government data showed Friday. The jobless rate fell 0.2 ...
Government bill on power harassment takes aim at Japan's workplace woes
A supervisor berates employees as slackers and incompetents. A president taunts, punches and forces a worker to write a letter of resignation — leading the employee to commit suicide. A whistle-blower exposes an illegal cartel, only to be banished and given mundane tasks to ...
