Business / Economy Jul 30, 2019
Japan's working women top 30 million as jobless rate improves to 2.3%
The number of women holding a job rose 530,000 from a year before, contributing to the total number of employees hitting a record 67.47 million.
Business Jul 11, 2019
Walmart Inc. is facing a strike by thousands of workers in South America amid the retail giant's push to increase automation at its physical stores. About 17,000 Walmart workers in Chile went on an indefinite strike on Wednesday after labor talks between the company and ...
National / Social Issues Jun 17, 2019
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 ...
Business Dec 3, 2018
It was midsummer, less than three months before Canada legalized recreational marijuana, and Vic Neufeld had a problem. The chief executive officer of Aphria Inc. had just hired 50 people to work in the pot producer's greenhouse in Leamington, Ontario, and by the end of ...
National Nov 16, 2018
Japan's industries are ready to hire foreign workers, but concerns remain
by Chisato Tanaka
More than 345,000 blue-collar foreign laborers are expected to enter Japan within a five-year period starting from fiscal 2019, but expectations as to their status and potential appear to differ significantly between the industries they are set to join. Some simply consider them labor, while ...
Business Nov 9, 2018
It pays to listen to the the real needs of women consumers in Japan
by Yuko Takeo and Emi Urabe
The country's male-dominated businesses are starting to ditch long-held views about what kinds of products women want as female consumers flex their growing spending muscle. While the result — more goods that emphasize the practical rather than the pretty — is the way it's long ...
National | Regional voices: Chubu Oct 22, 2018
Mountain biking project creates job opportunities in depopulated Aichi Prefecture district
An ongoing project to create employment opportunities in the depopulated Inabu district of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, is beginning to bear fruit, as a college student and two other people accepted job offers of working five days a week — three at a local factory ...
National Sep 27, 2018
More cases of work-linked deaths and illnesses revealed at Mitsubishi Electric
Of four employees at the firm who suffered mental and physical illnesses due to work, two killed themselves, company officials revealed Thursday.
National Aug 27, 2018
Support group for Vietnamese residents in Japan offers help with health and jobs
A support group for Vietnamese residents in Japan has been established in Tokyo, aiming to help them land lawful jobs and ease their difficulties in daily life, amid concerns about some who turn to crime. The Vietnam Mutual Aid Association in Japan says it will ...
National Aug 7, 2018
Companies across Japan take action to protect employees from unruly customers
A campaign is underway among Japanese companies to clarify rules that protect employees from unruly customers as labor shortages drive public-facing industries to improve their work conditions. In one example, taxi companies keen to stem an exodus of drivers are setting strict guidelines that allow ...
National Jun 19, 2018
Japan's demand for foreign workers may soften immigration policy, albeit slowly
by Malcolm Foster and Kiyoshi Takenaka
Shinichiro Tsukada says his small plastering company in Tokyo wouldn't survive without the 22 Chinese and Vietnamese workers who make up half his payroll. "They're treasures, real treasures," he said. "Workers are disappearing as our population ages. Buildings cannot be built because there aren't enough ...
National Apr 6, 2018
Labor reform bill passed by Japanese government despite opposition criticism
The government approved a bill Friday aimed at addressing the nation's chronic overwork problem despite opposition criticism that the envisioned legislation could exacerbate long working hours. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government wants the measure passed by the end of the current Diet session that ends ...