NEWSWORTHY
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 ...
Controversial Japanese labor reform bill clears Lower House committee
A Lower House committee has approved a controversial labor reform bill, paving the way for its passage through the Diet before the legislature closes on June 20. At the Lower House Committee on Health, Labor and Welfare, the bill to revise related laws was approved ...
Eager for passage, LDP offers to bend on work-style reform bills
A senior official of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party expressed a willingness Sunday to revise a key part of the work-style reform bills to get them enacted before the Diet closes for the summer. On a proposed system to exempt highly skilled professionals from the ...
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 ...
Ruling camp begins work-style reform debates despite opposition boycott
The ruling parties Friday started discussing work-style reform legislation at a plenary meeting of the House of Representatives, although six opposition parties continued to boycott debates at the Diet in a show of protest against a series of scandals involving the government. The administration of ...
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 ...
