English language conversation school operator Nova Co. illegally billed a student when it refused to refund her the full price she had paid for classes she didn’t take, the Kyoto District Court ruled. Presiding Judge Mizuho Ebi ordered Nova to pay the student the 176,672 yen she had sought when suing the company.
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060131p2a00m0na011000c.html
In April, Japan will introduce an “industrial tribunal system” to settle individual labor disputes, such as those involving dismissals, working conditions and reassignments. The purpose of this system is to settle disputes expeditiously by limiting the number of trial sessions to no more than three.
The number of disputes involving labor relations has increased markedly in recent years, reflecting the prolonged business slump. In fiscal 2004, labor-dispute “counseling corners” throughout the country, including prefectural labor relations bureaus, received 820,000 complaints and inquiries. Of these, 160,000 cases involved individual labor disputes. Both numbers represent more than three times the figures for fiscal 2001.
“If a foreigner is admitted as a resident and has the right to vote, the consciousness of local assembly members, companies and communities will change and their discrimination against foreigners will decline,” he said.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20060103f3.htm
A record high 198,380 foreigners were working in Japan as of June 1, up 10.2 percent from a year earlier, according to a recent survey by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
A total of 144,891 were indirectly-employed workers, including temporary or contract staff, an increase of 9.4 percent, the ministry said.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20051224a8.htm
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a public housing corporation should return the deposit it seized from a tenant to cover repairs in an apartment from normal wear and tear.
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20051216p2a00m0na021000c.html
Is a part time teacher at a “senmon gakko” (ten 90-minute classes over three days) entitled to pro rata annual paid leave?
A representative of the National Union of General Workers in Tokyo advises that, roughly speaking, those working less than 30 hours a week are eligible to “hirei-fuyo nenji-yukyu” (pro rata paid holidays).
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20050920a1.htm
The decision earlier this week by McDonald’s Holdings Co. (Japan) to make up for inadequate overtime wages and nonscheduled cash earnings owed to nearly 130,000 part-time and regular-payroll workers has sent a shock wave through industries heavily dependent on employees paid by the hour.
A Tokyo-based managers’ union that has also received complaints about McDonald’s said the nonexistence of a union is one factor behind the problems with part-time workers’ pay.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nb20050805a6.htm
Across the Tokyo region, Berlitz language teachers are striking. Members of the Begunto Union, the Berlitz teachers’ union in the Tokyo region of Japan, are striking against management actions regarding a pay freeze and introduction of new work contracts they see as less than satisfactory.
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=243288&rel_no=1
The size of Japan’s workforce is expected to peak ? and start falling ? within the next 2 years. But many it’s not easy being gaijin in Japan.
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2005/08/04/PM200508043.html
Japan is hoping to boost foreign investment and tourism by promoting the country as a land of hospitality. However, institutional racism and the media’s tendency to blame foreigners for rising crime means many visitors find themselves less than welcome.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,1166528,00.html