News

Is Japan becoming more insular?

by

With so much talk of globalization, it might seem counterintuitive to suggest that Japan is turning inward, but that’s what some have concluded.

Take Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where the local government last year made what seemed like a coldhearted offer to Latin American immigrants: It would pay them to go back home — as long as they agreed not to look for work here again. Some had invested 20 years in this country and had children who knew nothing about Brazil or Peru.

I’ve written about immigration a lot because Japan is still an anomaly in the developed world. Despite a string of signals from the business and political worlds that a population crisis will force immigration policy past its tipping point, the government shows no sign of taking the padlocks off “fortress Japan.”

Roughly 2 percent of the population here is foreign, far below most OECD countries. And the Hamamatsu case, while isolated, seemed to show that the state might take away the welcome mat when the economy darkens.

It’s not that I don’t understand how Japan feels. In my native Ireland, the foreign population went from almost zero to about 10 percent in the 15 or so years since I left. That’s a major adjustment for native Irish people. And there have been tensions: When I was at home in April, racist thugs murdered a young black boy in the capital, Dublin.

But immigration is in my view changing Ireland immeasurably for the better, bringing in new influences, cultures and food, broadening our perspectives on the world and contributing to our economy. And immigration is payback: the Irish, after all, have gone all over the world. Why shouldn’t we give something back?

I wonder if Japan will ever feel the same?

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20100521p2a00m0na003000c.html

Bar association supports woman’s claim that prefecture denied her promotions due to gender

by

A bar association here has found the Gunma Prefectural Government’s reluctance to promote a female employee to a higher position to be discriminatory and made a request to the government office to improve its promotion practices.

The request was made Thursday by the human-rights committee of the Gunma Bar Association.

According to the committee, it received a complaint from a 58-year-old woman who works at the prefectural office claiming that she was being held at the position of section chief, a position below the level of assistant division manager, because of gender discrimination at work. The committee proceeded to investigate the job promotion situation among men and women aged between 50 and 60 at that prefectural office.

The results of the investigation found that as of April 1, 2008, 84.9 percent of male employees at the office were at the assistant division manager level or higher, in contrast to 44.1 percent of female employees.

The committee also quoted the woman as saying that her boss at the division she had belonged to for four years from fiscal 2004 told her he had suggested to the personnel division that they promote her for her good work performance.

The committee believes that the personnel division’s treatment of the woman should be considered as a human rights violation, but their request for improved practices is not legally binding.

“There is no gender discrimination in our promotion system. We evaluate employees’ abilities in a comprehensive manner,” a personnel division official at the prefectural office says. “The reality is that there is a limit to how many versatile, experienced female employees there are at that (woman’s) age.”

It is unusual for a municipal government to be accused of denying an employee’s promotion on the basis of sex.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100521p2a00m0na019000c.html

Beard ban sparks controversy

by

The Isesaki city government has stirred controversy with an edict to public servants not to grow beards.

In a notice distributed to city workers Tuesday, Isesaki city said the ban was placed because some citizens find facial hair “unpleasant.”

The notice, aimed to inform workers of the start Wednesday of the summer “Cool Biz” campaign to reduce air-conditioning by dressing down, also cautioned against wearing whatever they like.

At present, no male city worker sports a beard or moustache, but some staffers appearing with stubble after a holiday period have drawn complaints from citizens, city officials said.

But Fumio Haruyama, a lawyer who chairs the Gunma Bar Association’s human rights panel, says a total ban “could infringe on personal rights.” He said that a well-groomed beard or moustache is now socially acceptable.

An official in the internal affairs ministry’s Local Public Service Personnel Division said rules restricting hairstyles or beards, and controversy over them, are unheard of.

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201005200448.html

Economy picks up despite deflation

by

The economy grew at its fastest pace in three quarters as an export surge prompted companies to increase capital spending even as the nation endures persistent deflation at home.

Gross domestic product rose 4.9 percent pace in the first three months of 2010 at an annual rate, less than forecast, a Cabinet Office report showed Thursday. So-called nominal GDP, which is unadjusted for price changes, increased 1.2 percent on a quarterly basis, the most in a decade.

The export-fueled rebound also started feeding into wages and the labor market. Earnings rose for the first time in 22 months in March and the ratio of job openings to applicants advanced for a third month.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100521n1.html

Nihongo teaching guidelines drafted

by

A Cultural Affairs Agency council has accepted a draft of the first-ever language guidelines on how to teach foreigners living in Japan the minimum Japanese language skills required to function in society.

The subcommittee of the Council for Cultural Affairs drew up a curriculum for national language education, which was accepted Wednesday by the council’s Subdivision on National Language. The guideline will be applied at Japanese language schools run by local governments.

According to the agency, it is estimated that about 1 million foreigners living in the country need to study Japanese, such as Brazilians of Japanese descent who came to the country to work, as well as their children.

However, there is no widely agreed upon specific method of teaching the language for daily conversation. As a result, many Japanese language schools are playing it by ear.

The draft shows model conversations at a medical facility, with lessons based on scenes at a reception desk, a medical examination room and a pharmacy counter. It also shows key grammar and vocabulary to encourage learners not to simply memorize conversations but to apply them to their own situations and build conversations.

The subcommittee will soon compile textbooks based on the guidelines, and discuss standards to objectively measure foreigners’ Japanese language abilities.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20100520TDY02T08.htm

Workplace policy: What strange things have been banned?

by

The municipal government of Isesaki in central Japan has banned its male employees from growing beards.

Yahoo News reports that there were two specific reasons for the ban. City officals cited a need for public servants to maintain decorum. Also, there were complaints from citizens who found beards and stubble unpleasant.

The facial hair policy is believed to be the first of its kind in Japan.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/pointofview/2010/05/workplace-policy-what-strange-things-have-been-banned.html

Gov’t eyes more Japanese language teachers to improve education for foreign children

by

The government finalized a plan Tuesday to make it easier for children of foreign residents to get a public school education in Japan, including a possible expansion in Japanese language teacher numbers to improve foreign children’s communication skills.

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, there were 18,585 foreign children registered at public primary, junior high and high schools for the 1999 school year. By the 2008 school year, the number stood at 28,575 children.

In response to this rise schools have been increasing teaching staff over the standard complement to provide improved instruction to the children. Fifty such teachers were brought on for the 2009 school year and 250 more for 2010, bringing the national total to 1,285. However, local bodies with many foreign residents continue to request central government support for more teaching staff every year.

The Education Ministry is looking to revise the basic guideline for student numbers per class, now at 40, for the first time in about 30 years by this August. At the same time, the ministry also plans to improve the distribution of teaching staff at each school, including the possible increase in Japanese language instructors. In addition, in order to make it easier for foreign children to enter public schools, those past primary school age will be allowed to register at primary schools if necessary, among other measures.

The ministry held a policy conference on education for children of foreign residents in December last year to sound out experts on the issue.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100519p2a00m0na008000c.html

Municipal government bans male employees from wearing beards

by

The municipal government of Isesaki in central Japan on Wednesday banned male employees from wearing beards, citing concerns that citizens find beards unpleasant and the need for public servants to maintain decorum.

The government of the Gunma Prefecture city said it has received complaints from some citizens who were offended by city office employees who had come to work unshaven following a holiday, and that it has instructed the employees concerned to shave each time a complaint was filed. But it is the first time that the city has put the ban, which carries no penalties, in writing.

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said it believes Isesaki is the country’s first municipality to introduce such a policy.

The ban was introduced in step with the start of this year’s “Cool Biz” casual attire campaign for the summer months for city government employees. The campaign, which is aimed at cutting back on air-conditioner use by allowing government and company employees to work without jackets and neckties, has been practiced in Japan since 2005 under the initiative of the Environment Ministry.

“Some citizens find (bearded men) unpleasant, so (beards are) banned,” a city government in-house notice says.

Although public opinion has become more tolerant of beards, “public servants should look like public servants,” a city official said.

But an official at the Environment Ministry said it is “hard to say” whether beards have anything to do with maintaining decorum.

Minoru Fujii, a member of the Hige (beard) Club, a Tokyo-based organization to promote beards that consists mostly of barbers, said, “I’m designing beards for my customers based on the concept of ‘a beard acceptable in the office.’ In the case of public servants, maybe (the ban) can’t be helped.”

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100519p2g00m0dm045000c.html

Still waiting for that last paycheck

by

Reader TS writes: “I return to the U.S. next week and I was supposed to receive my final pay check from a really bad ALT company . . . last week, but did not receive payment. I’ve called them but the secretaries say that the people in charge are not in the office. I called my direct contact and he has yet to call me back.

“I’ve read on the Internet that with your last pay check this company will try and avoid paying you since the pay date is so close to when you have to return to your home country, and that when you return they will try and avoid all contact with you. I’m going to keep calling them, but somehow I worry that it is futile.”

It is not unusual for a last paycheck to be withheld. Often there are expenses that an employee has incurred, such as rent from a company-provided apartment, health insurance, pension premiums and so on. Often these are deducted from a final paycheck. At the same time — especially in these economically tight times — some companies will try to avoid paying for that final month.

This can also happen when leaving an apartment. Landlords will sometimes add on a number of dubious expenses to avoid having to return key money and deposits.

Louis Carlet, executive president of the Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union (Tozen), suspects that in TS’ case the company is simply trying to dodge making that last payment.

“I have bad news for you,” he writes in an e-mail. “As a union rep for six years, I can honestly say I have received more complaints about your company than about any other in any industry. Unpaid wages is the most common grievance, while the No. 2 is that they are difficult to contact. Investigators from the Labor Standards Office and other government agencies have told me personally that they cannot get hold of management even to investigate the many unpaid wage claims.

“Currently, seven of our union members have sued the company [JALSS] for unpaid wages. We have other members and potential members waiting in line to join the suit.

“If you are leaving the country, it will be hard to get your money back since the ordinary process involves first going to the LSO and then perhaps taking the employer to court. The reality is discouraging, but if an employer knows you are leaving Japan, he or she can usually get away with taking your last pay. The LSO and courts move at a glacial pace and nearly any victory requires patience, dedication and concentrated determination.

“You could join our or another labor union and ask to have the case worked out after you are away. But there are difficulties for us to fight a case for someone not here and there is no guarantee you will ever win. This is why building a strong labor union is essential to prevent such abuses before they happen.”

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100518aj.html

Wages fell record 3.3% last year

by

Monthly wages took their largest drop ever — 3.3 percent — in fiscal 2009 ended in March as the global financial crisis and recession took their toll, the labor ministry said Monday.

Wages came to ¥315,311 on average, down for a third consecutive year and the sharpest year-on-year drop since fiscal 1991, when the survey’s current statistical methods were adopted.

The drop emerged in the form of declining semiannual bonuses and overtime pay as companies struggled to cope with the weak economy, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.

Bonuses and other nonbasic pay tumbled 10.8 percent to ¥53,046 per month, while nonscheduled remuneration, including overtime, slumped 7.9 percent to ¥16,987. Basic salaries fell 1.1 percent to ¥245,278.

Overtime hours came to an average of 9.4 hours per month in the reporting year, down 8.5 percent from a year earlier.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20100518a3.html