Japan Press Weekly

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2017 February 1 - 7 [LABOR]

President of company in violation of labor laws appointed as member of Labor Ministry panel

The President of leading distribution business Yamato Holdings Co., Ltd., although the company is repeatedly in violation of labor legislation, has become a member of the Labor Ministry panel discussing future ways of working.

At an Upper House Budget Committee meeting on January 31, Japanese Communist Party representative Tamura Tomoko pointed out this contradiction and asked Labor Minister Shiozaki Yasuhisa, who appointed this person to be on the council, for his response to this point.

The Minister responded by saying, “It is another matter if the firm has violated relevant laws,” and justified his decision to nominate Yamato HD President Yamauchi Masaki for the deliberative body, claiming that the Ministry only seeks employers’ opinions about future work rules.

Yamato Transport has a bad reputation for its frequent infringements of labor legislation: It has received administrative instructions to pay its workers unpaid overtime wages; the deaths or the suicides of some of its workers have been officially recognized as work-related due to overwork; and in August 2016, the labor authorities directed a Yamato Transport branch in Kanagawa to correct the practice of having employees work overtime without pay.

JCP Tamura said, “It’s totally inappropriate for the deliberative council to be thankful for hearing the opinions of the top executive of such a company.” The lawmaker demanded that the Ministry take strict countermeasures against the Yamato head office.

Past related article:
> Labor bureau instructs major delivery company to stop wage theft [November 17, 2016]