Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2014 April 16 - 22 [LABOR]

At JCP request, state cautions job information firms about misleading ads

In response to the demand from Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Kira Yoshiko, the Labor Ministry recently ordered job information companies not to carry misleading job offer information.

So-called “black corporations”, which use young workers as a disposable workforce, have been recruiting youngsters by using misleading advertisements.

In mid-March, three days after Kira took up this issue in a Diet committee session, the Labor Ministry requested in writing three major bodies which organize job placement agencies not to carry such false ads.

About 1,700 job information agencies are affiliated with the three organizations. They include Recruit Holdings running “rikunabi”, Japan’s largest employment information website, and Intelligence publishing “an”, a widely known part-time job magazine.

A ministry official said, “Taking Kira’s point seriously, we issued the written instruction immediately.”

The JCP Diet member on March 11 at an Upper House Budget Committee session pointed to the fact that some companies in their help-wanted ads made a monthly salary, which actually includes overtime pay, look like “basic pay”. Labor Minister Tamura Norihisa replied, “I’ll properly address the issue.”

Kira said, “The state’s quick response to the matter shows that many young people are suffering under harsh working conditions. To eradicate ‘black companies’, I’ll continue to tackle this problem.”

Past related article:
> JCP calls on career service company to cooperate in regulating ‘black corporations’ [December 26, 2013]