The workaholic nation of Japan has been crowned the most unhealthy country in the world to be an employee.
Japan is home to the highest rates of employees suffering from work-related health problems, according to a new global survey.
As many as three in five Japanese workers complain that they have become ill or unhealthy as a result of workplace grievances.
This was significantly higher than the 19 per cent of workers globally who have suffered from work-related ill health, according to the study by recruitment firm Kelly Services.
Overworking has emerged as an acute problem in modern day Japan, which even has a word – karoshi – for death from overworking. Japan also has a high rate of work-related fatalities.
While Japan topped the poll in terms of the nation of workers with the most work-related health problems, following closely behind was Canada, according to the poll.
Both Japan and Canada are among the nations with the lowest minimum annual holiday leave ? only ten days a year – which is significantly lower than most other countries
The healthiest places to work emerged as New Zealand, India and Australia, home to the fewest complaints of work-related ill health.
“In economies everywhere, people are spending more time at work, sometimes at the expense of personal health and wellbeing,” said the Kelly Global Workforce Survey.
“A significant number of people also believe that the state of their health is at risk because of workplace conditions. Not only do employees see their health being affected, but they expect employers to actively address the issue.”
The survey, which polled more than 115,000 in 33 countries, found that one in ten employee found it difficult to sleep at night due to work-related stress.
The study also found that as many as one in three workers internationally had taken three or more days sick leave in the previous year with more than a third saying they were made to feel guilty about taking time off.
“Employers can play a pivotal role in improving the health and fitness of their workers by introducing incentives and programs to keep staff encouraged, motivated and productive,” the survey said.
TozenAdmin
Revised Nationality Law enacted
The revised law was approved at a House of Councillors plenary session by a majority vote, although nine lawmakers from New Party Nippon and the People’s New Party, including NPN leader Yasuo Tanaka, voting against it. Haruko Arimura and Seiichi Eto, both Liberal Democratic Party members, and upper house Vice President Akiko Santo, former LDP member and now independent for the post, abstained from the vote.
Before enactment of the revised law, a Japanese man and non-Japanese woman had to be married when their child was born for the baby to be granted Japanese nationality. In cases in which a child was born out of wedlock to such a couple, the child would only be able to obtain Japanese nationality, strictly as an exception, if the father recognized paternity before the child was born.
Under the revised law, Japanese nationality will be granted to a child whose father recognizes paternity, regardless of whether the child’s parents are married or if paternal recognition comes before or after birth.
The revision to remove the marital status clause from the law followed a ruling by the Supreme Court in June that the Nationality Law was unconstitutional in denying nationality to children born out of wedlock but recognized by fathers after birth.
Law revision sparks family joy
Families seeking Japanese nationality for children born out of wedlock to Japanese fathers and foreign mothers were overjoyed at the passing of a revision to the Nationality Law on Friday.
The revision will enable a child born out of wedlock whose parents are unmarried to obtain Japanese nationality and take his or her father’s name if the father recognizes the child as his own.
The joy is tempered, however, by fears that false paternity claims by unrelated Japanese men will become commonplace, a matter of particular concern for the Justice Ministry.
Communist leader urges Japan PM to protect part-timers, smaller businesses amid economic slowdown
The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) leader has urged Prime Minister Taro Aso to take emergency measures to protect the employment of non-regular workers and smaller businesses amid the economic slowdown.
It is extremely rare for the JCP leader to meet exclusively with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) head.
In the meeting on Friday, JCP Chairman Kazuo Shii urged the government to exercise its authority to prevent businesses from dismissing temporary and part-time workers.
In a related development, Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Mizuho Fukushima has also proposed emergency employment guarantee measures. The SDP then asked the LDP to hold a meeting between the leaders of the two parties.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20081206p2a00m0na002000c.html
Sour Strawberries Preview
Featuring interviews with Nambu FWC allies Kanagawa City Union, Zentoitsu Workers Union, activist Arudou Debito, and scenes from the March in March 2008 march through Shibuya, Tokyo:
Japanese paternity gives nationality to kids born to unmarried foreign mothers
A revised bill of the Nationality Law that allows children born to unmarried Japanese fathers and foreign mothers to acquire Japanese nationality with only the father’s acknowledgement of paternity was enacted on Friday after passing in the House of Councillors plenary session.
In article three of the current law, children of unmarried parents cannot obtain Japanese nationality. However, the Supreme Court ruled the article that requires the marriage of parents unconstitutional. The new law is slated to come into effect early next year.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20081205p2a00m0na015000c.html
Revised Nationality Law passed
The Diet on Friday passed a bill to revise the Nationality Law, which had been blasted as unconstitutional and discriminatory against children of mixed couples born out of wedlock.
However, the Diet talks did not go as smoothly as planned because of concerns over fake nationality claims and even some xenophobic messages from the public.
Citizens opposed to the bill had inundated high-ranking officials and lawmakers in both the ruling and opposition camps with faxes and e-mail messages.
One Lower House member’s office received enough faxes to create a 20-centimeter-high stack. Although most of the messages called for further revisions to stipulate DNA tests, at least one citizen, apparently concerned about the Japanese identity, said, “Japan will be overrun.”
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200812060058.html
Subsidies offered for giving part-timers full-time jobs
Under the stimulus plan, the government would offer up to ¥1 million to small and midsize businesses and ¥500,000 to larger companies every time they make a part-time employee a full-time worker before their contract is terminated.
It is also considering granting job creation subsidies to firms that hire those who are facing job cancellations or are unable to get a job, including college students.
Aso to urge business leaders to give in to wage demands
If Aso follows through with the request, it will represent the full application of his prime ministerial authority to raising corporate wages across the nation, the sources said.
In addition to higher wages to spur the anemic economy, the government appears ready to implement a long-promised fiscal stimulus policy of handing out cash gifts worth a total of ¥2 trillion to all households across the nation.
In October, the government said that it would ask the business community to comply with the unions’ requests for higher wages as part of the government’s package of additional economic stimulus measures.
The business community is apparently reluctant to comply with such a request in light of Japan’s deteriorating economic conditions.
But Aso’s upcoming bargaining with the business leaders may have the effect of softening or eradicating the business leaders’ expected resistance to union wage demands, the sources added.
Japan’s Aso Will Ask Business Leaders to Boost Wages, Kyodo Says
Prime Minister Taro Aso plans to meet with top Japanese corporate executives next week to seek higher wages for workers, Kyodo News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Aso will meet with Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, and other business leaders Dec. 1 in an effort to bolster the economy, the news service said, citing the people.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=adkY7yAkRaOg&refer=japan