Tag - labor

 
 

LABOR

East Japan Railway has set out a strict policy of not yielding to unreasonable demands from customers. The government and ruling parties are considering a labor law revision to strengthen measures against "customer harassment."
JAPAN / Politics
May 14, 2024
Japan mulls legislation against customer harassment
46.8% of union members said they had experienced customer harassment in the past two years, according to a survey this year by UA Zensen.
Japan Post CEO Tetsuya Senda (right) and his Seino Transportation counterpart Satoshi Takahashi announce their companies' agreement on joint long-haul truck operations, in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024
Japan's logistics firms seek partnerships to cope with driver shortage
Japan Post and Seino Transportation have reached a basic agreement to work together on joint long-haul truck operations.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Hiroshima in May 2023. Yoon's focus on mending ties with Japan since he took office has seen relations recover from what officials and experts said was the worst since the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in 1965.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2024
Japan-South Korea ties remain on rocky ground over history
The possibility of disagreements over wartime labor in particular poses a constant threat to the dramatically improved relations built up in recent years.
A Towa Bank employee's suicide in 2017 has been recognized as a work-related accident.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024
Towa Bank employee suicide linked to overwork and harassment
Findings from the Labor Standards Inspection Office showed the man was under extreme stress due to unmanageable work pressures.
Workers on the production line at a cotton textile factory in Korla, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, on April 1, 2021
BUSINESS
May 8, 2024
Banned Chinese cotton found in 19% of U.S. and global retailers' merchandise, study shows
The U.S. enacted a law in 2021 to safeguard its market from products potentially tainted by human rights abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer.
A news conference is held following a settlement being reached in a labor tribunal proceeding in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 7, 2024
Nondisclosure issue a lingering problem in Japan labor cases
One worker in Osaka Prefecture is contesting a nondisclosure clause that was added to her labor tribunal case's resolution against her will.
The plaintiff in the case against Mizuho Bank had sought about ¥33 million in damages, including wages he should have received.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 24, 2024
Mizuho ordered to pay ¥3.3 million to ex-employee over labor dispute
The bank had — citing problematic behavior — told him to stay home at reduced pay without any work for five years.
A recent decision by a labor office marks a rare case in which a work-related illness has been officially attributed to remote work.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2024
Yokohama remote worker awarded compensation for work-related mental disorder
The woman developed an adjustment disorder from working overtime excessively, clocking over 100 hours a month in the months leading to her diagnosis.
Under the revised labor standards law, annual overtime will be capped at 960 hours for truck drivers and 720 hours for construction workers.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2024
New work-style reform measures kick off in Japan
It is feared the new caps will cause shortages of workers, making it difficult to maintain services.
Those who are planning to move to new homes are finding themselves either struggling to make a reservation or facing increasingly higher costs.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2024
Japan's moving companies struggle to meet demand amid driver shortage
Charges have increased, even doubled, during the March-April peak moving season as a regulation capping overtime hours for drivers kicks in.
Supporters of South Korean plaintiffs in wartime labor lawsuits hold a rally in Seoul on March 6.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2024
Wartime labor issue still overshadowing Japan-South Korea ties
Last month, a South Korean plaintiff received compensation deposited by Hitachi Zosen with a South Korean court handling the wartime labor suit.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands in Hiroshima on May 21. The two leaders have met seven times in a year.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 6, 2024
Challenges remain after Japan-South Korea wartime labor resolution
There is discontent in South Korea that Japanese firms have not made apologies or compensation payments.
Beyond factors such as the "motherhood penalty," Japanese women struggle to advance in their careers due to the structure of the workforce, including the two-tiered clerical versus managerial track.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 6, 2024
Why is it taking so long to break the glass ceiling?
Japan isn't unique in having a thick glass ceiling, but some factors don't apply to other countries, like the U.S., where many more managers are women.
Shoppers walk past an ID Hub, a Volkswagen showroom for electric cars, at a mall in Shanghai on Dec. 3, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2024
Firms with deep roots in China reconsider their Xinjiang ties
Volkswagen Group is reviewing the future of its joint venture in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China
Volkswagen has long come under scrutiny over its factory in Urumqi in Xinjiang, which opened in 2013.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2024
Pressure mounts on Volkswagen to exit China's Xinjiang region
The carmaker said it was discussing the future of its activities in the region, following fresh allegations of human rights abuses.
A man walks through panels at a solar power plant under construction in Aksu, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, in 2012.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024
Banned Chinese solar goods worth billions find route to U.S. via India
Amid a solar boom, India’s largest panel-maker has sent millions of panels to the U.S. made with parts from a Chinese firm denied entry to the U.S. market.
A Japan Post delivery truck. Certain parcels will take longer to arrive under changes set to begin in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024
Japan Post announces delayed timeframes for express deliveries
The changes come as part of an effort to cope with stricter regulations on truck drivers’ working hours.
Salmon on sale in Sapporo on Dec. 1. The region has been hit hard by a Chinese ban on Japanese seafood products following the release into the ocean of treated, tritium-laced water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 15, 2023
Hokkaido to face issues around Rapidus, seafood and '2024 problem'
An influx of foreign residents is expected in Chitose, while China's ban on marine products continues to hurt the region.
People walk past the booth of fashion retailer Shein during the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2023
Shein’s IPO plan to fuel scrutiny over cotton and China roots
In addition to fighting skeptics, Shein is also locked in a battle with rival Temu
More and more children are producing content as online influencers and generating lots of money.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2023
Kidfluencers are today’s version of chimney sweeps
Protecting children from labor exploitation is difficult in the age of social media.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?