June 27, 2019
Local labor bureaus have found violations of the Labor Standards Act in 69% of workplaces inspected in Tokyo and its surrounding areas.
The Labor Ministry labor bureaus in Tokyo and seven prefectures near Tokyo conducted special inspections of 1,963 businesses last November where compensation for death from overwork were applied for or the practice of the disposable use and misuse of young workers was suspected.
As a result, 52 (80%) of 65 workplaces inspected in Yamanashi were found to be breaking the law. In Tochigi, Saitama, and Chiba, workplaces where employers committed violations of the labor law came to more than 70%. The Tokyo labor bureau discovered law violations in 458 (69%) of the business facilities it inspected.
In the eight prefectures combined, 693 (35%) facilities conducted illegal practices related to overtime; 380 (19%) workplaces forced workers to work more than 80 hours overtime a month which is the ministry-set danger line of death from overwork and workers in 103 (5%) workplaces were not paid for overtime work.
For example, a warehouse operator in Chiba forced its workers to work overtime of up to 298 hours a month; and a restaurant in Kanagawa had a worker work up to 134 hours of overtime a month and the worker ended up dying from brain and heart diseases.
Ozaki Ayako, Japanese Communist Party member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, said, "We must take it seriously that in Tokyo, the number of workplaces where illegal practices were found increased to 458 from the previous 414 in November 2017. Overtime work exceeding the danger line was found in 127 workplaces, which is also more than last time." Ozaki added, "JCP assemblypersons will demand that the Tokyo metropolitan government implement stricter supervision over companies and take effective measures to eliminate excessively long working hours."
The Labor Ministry labor bureaus in Tokyo and seven prefectures near Tokyo conducted special inspections of 1,963 businesses last November where compensation for death from overwork were applied for or the practice of the disposable use and misuse of young workers was suspected.
As a result, 52 (80%) of 65 workplaces inspected in Yamanashi were found to be breaking the law. In Tochigi, Saitama, and Chiba, workplaces where employers committed violations of the labor law came to more than 70%. The Tokyo labor bureau discovered law violations in 458 (69%) of the business facilities it inspected.
In the eight prefectures combined, 693 (35%) facilities conducted illegal practices related to overtime; 380 (19%) workplaces forced workers to work more than 80 hours overtime a month which is the ministry-set danger line of death from overwork and workers in 103 (5%) workplaces were not paid for overtime work.
For example, a warehouse operator in Chiba forced its workers to work overtime of up to 298 hours a month; and a restaurant in Kanagawa had a worker work up to 134 hours of overtime a month and the worker ended up dying from brain and heart diseases.
Ozaki Ayako, Japanese Communist Party member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, said, "We must take it seriously that in Tokyo, the number of workplaces where illegal practices were found increased to 458 from the previous 414 in November 2017. Overtime work exceeding the danger line was found in 127 workplaces, which is also more than last time." Ozaki added, "JCP assemblypersons will demand that the Tokyo metropolitan government implement stricter supervision over companies and take effective measures to eliminate excessively long working hours."
