Tetsu Katayama served as Japan’s first socialist prime minister in 1947-1948. His moderate approach, however, proved unable to satisfy the increasingly contradictory demands of his political base and the US occupiers.
The Tokyo Labor Relations Commission provided us a bright day in labor history with the first ever ruling extending union rights to those engaged in work via an online platform.
A 68-year-old woman died of a heart attack at her workplace, the home of a bed-ridden elderly resident, in 2015. She worked as a housekeeper and nurse. Immediately before her death, she had worked in the home on a nearly 24-hour basis for a full week straight.
The Tokyo District Court has ruled that Seven-Eleven store owners have no collective bargaining rights.
Japanese courts have been forced to grapple with the tricky question of whether or not acting is a category of work that requires legal labor protections.
Shane Corporation management, which earlier this year attempted to force its language teachers to repay the furlough allowance they had received during the coronavirus emergency shutdown in the spring, has followed up with yet more egregious action.
Countless workers are struggling to make ends meet as the Covid-19 coronavirus leads to non-renewals, dispatch agency firings, and even non-payment of the furlough allowance. This includes English conversation schools, many of whose foreign instructors face economic hardship after losing their jobs.
Around Japan, workers still commute each day on packed trains and file into crowded meeting rooms. Some are told to stay home, with or without pay.
Japan’s labor laws have made several several distinct steps forward since the Meiji Restoration of 1868, with workers gradually gaining a degree of protection from the exploitation of business owners and managers. However, the era of Shinzo Abe has been characterized not only by a failure to progress further, but by a distinct step backwards.
