Tag - labor

 
 

LABOR

Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Nov 17, 2016
Half of Japan's firms are rethinking work hours with a view to paring overtime: poll
Just over half of Japanese firms are reviewing rules on working hours with many looking to cut down on overtime, a Reuters poll shows, in a sign that the government has gained traction in its campaign for more employee-friendly labor practices.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2016
Japan quietly accepting foreign workers — just don't call it immigration
Send us your construction workers, your care givers, your store clerks — but for a limited time only.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2016
Record 5,803 foreign trainees went missing in Japan last year
Observers say this is another sign that the technical intern program — long criticized by rights groups at home and abroad as akin to slavery — is seriously flawed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 28, 2016
Manga on overwork hell goes viral in wake of Dentsu suicide reports
After the Christmas 2015 suicide of an employee at ad giant Dentsu Inc. was reported as an official case of karoshi (death from overwork) this month, making headlines nationwide, a manga portraying the mindset of those worn out on the job went viral earlier this week and had been retweeted over 131,000...
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2016
Foreign trainees as caregivers
The government shouldn't use the trouble-plagued foreign trainee program to fill manpower shortages in the nursing care sector.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2016
Immigration: a plus if root problems are tackled
The global economic gains from migration will lose their luster unless many of the factors that propel people to leave their countries for better opportunities abroad are addressed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 26, 2016
Ministry eyes Scandinavian plan to boost paternity leave and keep women working
A panel mulls including a quota system in a two-year parental leave plan that would require paternity leave to join.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 21, 2016
Lower House committee passes bill to shake up Japan's foreign trainee program
The bill is intended to shake up a state-sponsored foreign traineeship program slammed by critics as akin to modern slavery.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 7, 2016
1 in 4 firms in Japan say workers log over 80 overtime hours a month
The nation's first white paper on “karoshi” finds nearly a quarter of companies have employees that are seriously overworked.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 4, 2016
Is immigration the answer?
A migration policy is being deployed to combat acute labor shortages in sectors of the Japanese economy, but migrant workers won't be enough to solve the long-term challenges of Japan's demographic implosion.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 27, 2016
Labor panel meets after report Japan may open doors to nursing staff and construction workers
A government panel on labor reforms such as a narrowing of the pay gap between regular and nonregular workers held its first meeting Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Office.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 22, 2016
Japan's shrinking population not burden but incentive: Abe
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan's aging, shrinking population was not a burden, but an incentive to boost productivity through innovations like robots, wireless sensors and artificial intelligence.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Sep 18, 2016
'Same work, same pay' principle doesn't stop at 60
Recently, the Tokyo Public Law Office has seen a surge in inquiries similar to the following:
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2016
Don't assume that humans can't be replaced
Machines have never replaced humans before, but there is no reason why the future will look like the past.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2016
An 'OPEC' cartel for labor-exporting countries
A labor-exporting cartel would would change the dynamics of labor supply and demand to the benefit of both workers and importing countries.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Aug 21, 2016
The flip side of coveted public-sector jobs in Japan: fewer rights
Laws restrict government workers' constitutional rights to organize, bargain and take collective action.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.