http://labor-consultant.com/ "For both enterprises planning to branch out into Japan and foreign-affiliated firms aiming to expand their business in Japan" ----No company is going to globalize operations and optimize human resources across the world without Office Tomisaka---- Sun, 20 May 2012 11:46:59 +0900 http://backend.userland.com/rss/ XOOPS News inquiry61@labor-consultant.com inquiry61@labor-consultant.com ja http://labor-consultant.com/images/logo.gif http://labor-consultant.com/ 144 100 http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=8 The revised Child-rearing and Nursing Care Leave Law obliges firms to allow employees with children under 3 to make use of the system like shorter working hours. Working fewer hours helps employees who want to continue their careers, but have children or care-giving obligations. Here's excerpts from Rules for Childcare Care Leave Article 15 (Work for Shortened Hours for Childcare) 1.An employee, who is taking care of his/her child aged less than three years, may assume that the normal working hours set forth in the Office Regulations shall be six hours from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (with the rest time of 60 minutes from Noon to 1:00 p.m.). (In addition, a female employee, who is taking care of her child aged less than one year, may request the Company separately to grant the childcare time twice a day for 30 minutes each.) 2.Notwithstanding the provision of the preceding paragraph, the Company may refuse the application for work for shortened hours for childcare from any employee coming under any of the following subparagraphs: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 11:44:58 +0900 http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=8 News http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=6 The foreign trainee and technical internship program was established to help workers from developing nations learn on-the-job skills at Japanese companies and other workplaces. The stated goal is to provide participants with three years of vocational experience before they return to their home countries.  Last week, the labor standards inspection office in Ibaraki Prefecture recognized that the June 2008 death of a 31-year-old Chinese man in Japan on that program was due to karoshi, or death from overwork.  This case exposed the deceitful nature of a system promoted as making "international contributions."  The trainee in question arrived in Japan in December 2005, and had been employed at a metal processing company in Ibaraki. In the three months prior to his death, he logged between 93 and 109 hours of overtime each month, the office reported. His death is viewed as the tip of the iceberg. There are some 200,000 Chinese and other foreign trainees and interns in Japan. According to the Japan International Training Cooperation Organization, which helps to transfer Japanese skills to developing countries through the training program, 35 guest workers on the program died during fiscal 2008. Of that number, 16 are believed to have succumbed to cerebral and coronary ailments caused by working long hours. In fiscal 2009, there were 27 deaths.  For details, please visit the following website: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201007140414.html (The Asahi Shimbun, July 14, 2010)   Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:00:00 +0900 http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=6 News http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=5 "I'm going to be the first in our company to take child-care leave." "I'm going to fully enjoy my six months in child care." "I'm going to take a bath with my baby boy three or more days a week."  These quotes are from the Ikumen Project website opened in June by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Ikumen is a coined word that is a combination of ikuji (child-rearing) and men, referring to fathers who actively take part in raising children. Such men are increasing--a trend that is good for children, families and society as a whole.  The revised Child-care and Family-care Leave Law took effect June 30 to support the spread of men's participation in child care.  The revised law has a new rule called a "dad and mom child-care leave plus system." For details, please visit the following website: http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201007040253.html (The Asahi Shimbun, July 3, 2010)  Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:00:00 +0900 http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=5 News http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=4 Employer should introduce one of the following measures to secure stable employment for older workers until the age of 65. (Measures for securing employment for older persons) Article 9. In cases where the employer fixes the retirement age (limited to under 65 years old; hereinafter the same shall apply), he or she shall conduct any one of the measures listed in the items below in order to secure stable employment for older workers until the age of 65 (hereinafter referred to as “measures for securing employment for older persons”): (1) Raising the retirement age; (2) Introduction of a continuous employment system (refers to the system of continuing to employ an older person wishing to be employed following said employee’s retirement; hereinafter the same shall apply); (3) Abolition of the retirement age. 2. Employers shall be regarded as having implemented the measures listed in item 2 of the preceding paragraph when it has designated the standards concerning older persons who are subject to the continuous employment system and introduced said system based on said standards, by a contract concluded with a labor union in case it is organized by a majority of workers in the establishment concerned, or by a written agreement concluded with the person representing a majority of the workers in case a labor union organized by a majority of the workers does not exist. Supplementary Provisions (Special provisions concerning measures for securing employment for older persons, etc.) Article 4. Concerning the application of the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9 during a period set forth in the top column of the following table, in accordance with the criteria presented in the top column of the same table, “65 years old” in the same paragraph shall be read as terms presented in the bottom column of the same table respectively. From April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007 62 years old From April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010 63 years old From April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2013 64 years old ( Mar 22, 2006 ) Mon, 22 May 2006 09:00:00 +0900 http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=4 News http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=3 Insurance payment on work-related disasters to proprietors with fewer than five employees by health insurance Work-related disasters are not applicable to health insurance since Health Insurance Law does not permit insurance payment for injuries or diseases due to work-related disasters. On the other hands, representatives or managers of small corporations are not entitled to receive insurance payment based on Worker's Accident Compensation Insurance Law because they are not construed as employees according to Labor Standard Law. But representatives who are representatives of corporation called "extremely small business" is now allowed to receive health insurance payment for work-related injuries from July 1st, 2003 as a temporary measure with the condition that they are involved in similar job to their employees after it was found that there was no difference in working condition between them and individual business. (Jul 1, 2004) Thu, 01 Jul 2004 10:00:00 +0900 http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=3 News http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=2 ◆Dual contribution liability Many of Japanese employees who are detached to foreign countries and work there are covered by welfare pension insurance and national pension plan in Japan. When they work in a foreign country, in addition to that, they may be required to pay some contributions based on a social security system of the country, including a public pension scheme. In such a case, they are forced to make dual payment of contributions for the social security in both Japan and the foreign country. ◆No refund of contribution The public pension system in Japan allows employees to receive pension rights for old-age basic pension and other old-age pensions at 65 years old with the condition that they have enrolled in the system for 25 years at least. To be qualified as recipient, the public pension systems in other countries also require employees to enroll in the system for a certain period (10 years in U.S.A). But there are a lot of nonqualified cases. When employees are detached to a foreign country, they normally enroll in a public pension system during their stay. But the period is too short for them to be qualified as recipient of an old-age pension. In some countries, the payment of pension to foreigners is limited only to those who have lived in the signatory country to social security agreement etc. Both cases show that contribution is nonrefundable. ◆Social security agreement To avoid the dual payment of contribution to the public pension systems or the nonrefundable contribution, employees who enroll in the system of either country should be qualified as recipient in the other country and/or employees who enroll in public pension system in both countries should be entitled to receive pension from both counties based on the enrollment period. Recently, Japan and the United States of America concluded the Agreement on Social Security. This shall be enforced from October, 2005. (Mar14, 2005) Thu, 01 Jul 2004 09:00:00 +0900 http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=2 News http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=1 Defined contribution pension plan is the new type of pension system which allows plan holders to select investment products by themselves and fix amount of money received based on the result of the investment while the company bears the pension premium. The system is expected to complement the public pension system. 
Defined contribution pension plan is the useful system “for the support of retired employees as a part of benefit package”, “for the introduction of appropriate pension plan to the company”, “for the elimination of concerns about the fluctuations of expenses due to shortage of a pension reserve” and “for securing talented human resources”.
 ◆Advantages of defined contribution pension plan
To plan holders
 having high portability on job change enabling to clarify details of pension assets by plan holder
 having option on investment activity and proportion of assets
 having the possibility to increase the pension benefits if the investment goes well
 having choice of financial investments based on life plan
 applying deductions of public pension etc and deduction of retirement income for lump-sum payment
 short grant of vesting for company contribution (at least over 3 years of service)
 To company No obligation to additional contribution
 No requirement of accounting based on projected benefit obligation
 treatment of company’s plan premium as losses
 ◆Disadvantage of defined contribution pension plan To plan holders unstable guarantee to future revenues after retirement due to the fluctuation of benefits based on the result of investment risk of pension management conservative investment with the emphasis on safety company’s weak motivation to improvement of management gains due to no risk at company side To companies requirement of additional management such as keeping detailed records of investment activity by plan holder no reduction of pension premium even if the investment activity goes well necessity of investment training to plan holders ( May15, 2004 ) Sat, 15 May 2004 09:00:00 +0900 http://labor-consultant.com/modules/bulletin/index.php?page=article&storyid=1 News