Japan Press Weekly

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2020 August 26 - September 1 [LABOR]

JCP Koike: workers' accident compensation insurance should cover corona-infected actors

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on August 25 demanded that the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare promptly confirm that workers infected with coronavirus at work are eligible for workers' accident compensation, and that actors be also covered by work-related compensation insurance.

Koike said, "The Japan Actors Union and many performers are looking to be insured by workers' accident compensation," and demanded that the government consider providing work-related insurance benefits to sole proprietors and freelancers who have been under the risk of contracting COVID-19.

As of August 21, the government paid work-related accident insurance benefits to 410 COVID-19 cases out of the 978 cases applied for.

Koike said, "Given that workers in many medical institutions and restaurants were infected with the coronavirus, the actual number of applications for workers' compensation looks too small."

A ministry official told Koike that anyone who became sick through business-related contacts are eligible for the insurance. In response, Koike said that the government should assess the actual situation and give relief to a wider range of people.