Mitsubishi Chemical to allow teleworking during Olympics under traffic-easing program
Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. said Wednesday it will implement teleworking during this summer's Tokyo Olympics to reduce traffic congestion. The holding company will allow all its Tokyo-based employees to work from home and other locations between July 24 and Aug. 9. The company, which has ...
Corporate culture remains obstacle to Japan adopting telework
The government has been actively promoting telecommuting, touting its many merits from easing traffic congestion and enhancing disaster preparedness to helping recruit and retain talent amid Japan's chronic labor shortage. Yet it seems there is a long way to go before large numbers of employees ...
Looking to boost regional revitalization and work-style reform, local governments across Japan have entered an alliance to promote the "workation" concept of telecommuting from resorts and other vacation spots. The alliance brings together seven prefectural and 58 municipal governments to spur migration from urban to ...
Four-day workweek could be just what Japan needs
In the sitcom "The Office," a bumbling manager spends much of his time distracting the hapless employees of a paper company's local sales branch. Somehow, despite all the antics that seem to interfere with getting anything done, the branch consistently manages to be the ...
Survey finds nearly 50% of Japanese think mandatory use of five days of paid leave is not enough
Nearly half of respondents in a recent poll think that mandatory use of at least five paid leave days each year, a measure introduced in April under the working style reform law, still falls short of what is needed. The survey by Jiji Press showed ...
Panel proposes Japan schoolteachers' overtime be limited to 45 hours per month
A government panel proposed Friday that overtime work for teachers in public schools be capped, in principle, at 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year. The proposal was part of a report on public school teachers' work-style reforms compiled by the Central Council ...
Labor reform law nudges corporate Japan to rethink working styles
Working late, falling asleep on trains due to exhaustion and getting drunk to release tension from work might still be the typical image of the "salaryman." This country is notorious for a culture of overwork. Employees who stay late are still praised for hard work ...
Dentsu to debut extraordinary 'input holiday' day off every month from June on trial basis
Major Japanese advertising agency Dentsu Inc. will introduce a uniform monthly day off on a trial basis from June, aiming to improve productivity by allowing more private time for its workers. The entire company will basically halt operations on one day every month to December ...
Are we addressing the core labor issues?
Corporate Japan must change its 20th-century mentality toward work.
Municipal and prefectural governments across the country plan to adopt their own measures to promote labor reforms for their employees, such as by consigning operations to the private sector to cut overtime and introducing flexible working hours. Starting in November, the Kobe Municipal Government will ...
Some Japanese firms becoming more family-friendly with telecommuting and kids at work
In the face of a labor shortage and a push to get more women into the workforce, some Japanese companies are taking steps to accommodate the needs of working parents, such as allowing them to bring their children to the office or to work ...
