Japan Labor Issues
Working conditions, Working environment
2026
- MHLW's Survey Results on "A Comprehensive Review of the Work Style Reform Act Five Years After Its Enforcement" (PDF:630KB)
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Aiming to Raise Implementation Rate of Measures for Securing Job Opportunities until Age 70 to 40% or Higher: MHLW Formulates New Basic Policy for Measures for the Stabilization of Employment for Elderly Persons, etc. (PDF:573KB)
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Responses to Overtime Work Caps: Case Studies of Four Freight Transport Companies (PDF:1.6MB)
- Training Investment and the Choice of Wage Adjustment Instruments in Japanese Firms (PDF:918KB)
- Looking Back on 30 Years of Measures to Address the Declining Birthrate (PDF:1.7MB)
- Law and Policy on Health Protection in the Workplace during a Pandemic (PDF:627KB)
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Gender Equality and Indirect Discrimination: The Legality of Restricting Company Housing Scheme to Comprehensive-Track Workers
The AGC Green-Tech Co. Case (PDF:616KB) - Minimum Wage Policy in Japan (PDF:790KB)
- Examination of the Occupational Polarization Hypothesis: Analysis on the Japanese Labor Market in 21st Century Based on the Employment Status Survey Data (PDF:978KB)
- Raising the Importance of Developing "Career Ladders" for Jobs Supporting Social Infrastructure in Areas such as Medical and Welfare, Transportation, and Hospitality: MHLW's White Paper on the Labor Economy 2025 (PDF:586KB)
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Application of the Deemed Working Time System for Work Outside of the Workplace
The Globe Cooperative Association Case (PDF:657KB) - Termination of Employment Relationships in Japan (PDF:788KB)
- Maternal Employment in Japan Over the Past 40 Years: Evidence from the Population Census (PDF:941KB)
- Trends in the Gender Gap in Time Use among Japanese Married Couples (PDF:761KB)
- 2025 Shunto: Continuing from 2024, Wage Increase Rate Above 5% Achieved, Leading to Increases in National Government's Employee Wages and in Minimum Wages (PDF:804KB)
- Results of the Eighth "Survey on Working Life" from JILPT Fixed-Point Survey (PDF:803KB)
- Karoshi and Overwork-Related Health Problems in Japan: Current Situation and Prevention Measures (PDF:973KB)
2025
- The MHLW Study Group Proposes the Future Direction of Labor Standards-Related Laws (PDF:616KB)
- State of Reinstatement of Dismissed Employees Following Court Decisions to Nullify Dismissal (PDF:655KB)
- Illegality of a Transfer Order Following Business Abolition with Job Category Limitation Agreements
The Shiga Prefecture Council of Social Welfare Case (PDF:587KB) - Current State of Working Hours and "Work Style Reform" in Japan (PDF:872MB)
- Position of Japan Regarding Changes in Work Environment Following Introduction of AI Technology in Workplace: International Comparison Focusing on Responses by Corporate Organizations (PDF:741KB)
- An International Comparison of Japanese Jobs (PDF:870KB)
- Corporate In-house Education and Training and Career Formation in Japan (PDF:1.1MB)
- The "Long-lasting and Persistent" Labor Shortage since the 2010s—MHLW's White Paper on the Labor Economy 2024 (PDF:709KB)
- Issues for Regulating Working Hours in the Post-Work-Style-Reform Era (PDF:239KB)
- Effects of Paternity Leave Take-up Rate in Fathers’ Industry of Work on Mothers’ Employment and Health (PDF:317KB)
- 2024 Shunto: The First Wage Increase Above 5% since 1991 with an Urgent Need to Spread the Trend to SMEs (PDF:400KB)
- First Revision in 12 Years of Industrial Accidents Recognition Criteria for Mental Disorders: Customer Harassment and Continuous Engagement in Work with High Risk of Infection are Newly Added (PDF:191KB)
- Creation of “Employment for Skill Development Program,” Aiming for Making Japan an Attractive Destination for Foreign Workers (PDF:377KB)
2024
- The 7th JILPT Tokyo Comparative Labor Policy Seminar 2024 “Challenges in Collective Labor Relations in the Context of Worker and Workstyle Diversification: Reassessing the Role of Labor Unions” (PDF:5.2MB)
- Allocation and Transfer Management by Japanese Companies (PDF:1.0MB)
- Current Status of the Jobseekers Support System as a Second Safety Net (PDF:1.3MB)
- Measures Required to Achieve Sustainable Wage Hikes: MHLW's White Paper on the Labour Economy 2023 (PDF:1.1MB)
- Will the Japanese Long-Term Employment System Continue to be Maintained? (PDF:977KB)
- 2023 Shunto: Highest Wage Hike in 30 Years, Yet Its Sustainability a Challenge (PDF:1.3MB)
2023
- The Shrinking Middle Class in Japan (PDF:1.3KB)
- Non-Regular Employment Measures in Japan (PDF:1.2MB)
- Is a Part-time Instructor Whose Role is Exclusively to Teach University Language Classes a "Researcher"?
The Senshu University (Conversion of a Fixed-Term Labor Contract to an Indefinite-term Labor Contract) Case (PDF:626KB) - Japanese Companies' Wage Determination in the Heightened Climate for Wage Increases (PDF:520KB)
- Promoting Employment of Older Workers and Adjustment of their Working Conditions at Japanese Firms (PDF:412KB)
- The 2022 Shunto Results and Challenges: Labor and Management Shared a Recognition of the Need for “Investment in People” (PDF:296KB)
- Disguised Contracting and the Deemed Labor Contract Application by the Client under Item 5 of Paragraph 1 of Article 40-6 of the Worker Dispatching Act
The Tori Case (PDF:255KB) - What Causes the Gender Wage Gap in Japan? (PDF:483KB)
- Employers' Duty for Safety of Multiple Job Holder Who Worked Excessively Long Hours
The Daiki Career-Casting and One Other Defendant Company Case (PDF:238KB)
2022
- The Kishida Administration’s Near-term Policy Line Focuses on “Investment in People”: Hammering out Measures to Promote Wage Increases and Require Gender Wage Gap Disclosure (PDF:183KB)
- Why Does the Older Population in Japan Work So Much? (PDF:302KB)
- A Record 12.65% of Fathers in Japan Took Childcare Leave in 2020
MHLW's Basic Survey of Gender Equality in Employment Management (PDF:441KB) - Legality of Restrictions on Use of Worksite Facilities by a Transgender Employee
The State and National Personnel Authority (METI Employee) Case (PDF:218KB) - Remote Work and Job Satisfaction that Depends on Personality Traits: Evidence from Japan (PDF:482KB)
- Legality of Restrictions on Use of Worksite Facilities by a Transgender Employee
The State and National Personnel Authority (METI Employee) Case (PDF:218KB) - Social Inequality in the Prevalence of Working from Home under the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan (PDF:540KB)
- Gender Equality in the Workplace from a Legal Perspective: Current Situation and Issues of Japan's Equal Employment Opportunity Act (PDF:325KB)
- Gender Inequality in Access to Managerial Positions in Japan from a Cross-National Comparative Perspective: The Role of Labor Markets and Welfare States (PDF:1.07MB)
2021
- The 2021 Shunto: Results and Identified Issues from a Broad Range of Discussions Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic (PDF:332KB)
- Wage Compensation during Leave in the COVID-19 Crisis and Its Impacts on Workers' Careers (PDF:678KB)
- The Fifth Basic Plan for Gender Equality "Toward a Reiwa Society Where All Women and Girls Can Thrive and Achieve Their Full Potential" (PDF:231KB)
- Working from Home and Work-life Balance during COVID-19: The Latest Changes and Challenges in Japan (PDF:678KB)
- Judgment Declaring Fixed Overtime Pay Illegal and Upholding a Worker's Claim for a Solatium for Excessive Overtime Work despite No Resulting Health Damage
The Karino Japan Case (PDF:210KB) - The Worker Status of a Theater Troupe Member
The Air Studio Case (PDF:208KB) - Working Hours under the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan: Reviewing Changes by Situation Phase during and after the 2020 State of Emergency Declaration (PDF:473KB)
- The Necessity of Reduced Working Hours under the Re-familization of Elderly Care (PDF:983KB)
- Does the Conclusion of a Fixed-term Part-time Contract when Returning to Work after Childcare Leave Constitute the Cancellation of the Regular Employment Contract?
The Japan Business Lab Case (PDF:262KB) - How Human Coexistence with ICT in the Era of Telework Enabled Should Be: From the Viewpoint of Now and the Future of Telework in Japan (PDF:347KB)
- Impact of the COVID-19 Recession on Full-Time Workers: Shortened Work Hours, Working from Home, and Possible Widening of Income Disparities (PDF:438KB)
- What Is Shunto? (PDF:376KB)
- The Law to Prevent “Power Harassment” in Japan (PDF:345KB)
2020
- Research on Job Search Interventions: Examination of the Feasibility of a Cyclical Self-Regulatory Model of Job Search Process Quality (PDF:506KB)
- Whether a Staff Position in an Automobile Manufacturer Shall Be Deemed "Supervisory or Managerial Employee" Status under the Labor Standards Act: The Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. ("Supervisory or Managerial Employee" Status) Case (PDF:261KB)
- A Case Study on Overwork-related Mental Disorders in Japan: Focusing on Young Employees (PDF:429KB)
- Development of the Input Data for the Occupational Information Network of Japan (PDF:528KB)
- A Look at Japanese Households Facing Risk of Livelihood Collapse Due to COVID-19 (PDF:304KB)
- Wages in Japan
Part II: Wages and Size of Company (PDF:365KB) - Worker Status of the Joint Enterprise Cooperative Members: The Joint Enterprise Cooperative Workers’ Collective Wadachi Higashimurayama Case (PDF:229KB)
- Wage Disparities between Standard and Non-standard Employees: From the Perspective of Human Resource Management (PDF:291KB)
- The Latent Structure of the Japanese Labor Market and the Type of Employment: Latent Class Analysis with Finite Mixture Model (PDF:596KB)
- Legal Liability Regarding "Power Harassment" and the Scope of That Liability: The Fukuda Denshi Nagano Hanbai Case (PDF:197KB)
- Akiomi Kitagawa, Souichi Ohta, and Hiroshi Teruyama, The Changing Japanese Labor Market: Theory and Evidence (PDF:234KB)
- The Slow Decline of the Male-breadwinner Family Model in Contemporary Japan and Its Ramifications for Men’s Lives (PDF:236KB)
2019
- Policy Challenges for the Introduction of AI and Other New Technologies: Report of MHLW’s Committee on Basic Labour Policy (PDF:242KB)
- Binding Effect of Unilaterally Modified Rules of Employment Introducing a Performance-based and Ability-based Wage System: The Trygroup Case (PDF:163KB)
- The 2019 Shunto in the Context of the JTUC-Rengo Wage Hike Summary Report (PDF:303KB)
- Does the Unilateral Discontinuance of Dues Check-Off by a Local Public Entity Constitute Unfair Labor Practices?: The National Government and Central Labor Relations Commission vs. Osaka City (Dues Check-Off) Case (PDF:218KB)
- The Leakage of Trade Secrets (Customer Data) by the Employees of Contractors: The Benesse Corporation Customer Data Leakage Case (Criminal Case) (PDF:286KB)
- Poverty and Income Polarization of Married Stay-at-home Mothers in Japan Part II: What Drives Japanese Women to Be Full-time Housewives despite Poverty? (PDF:348KB)
- Poverty and Income Polarization of Married Stay-at-home Mothers in Japan Part I: Historical Perspectives of Japanese Full-time Housewives (PDF:368KB)
- Employers' Obligation to Consider the Needs of Employees Returning from Childcare Leave: The Japan Business Lab Case (PDF:208KB)
- Combining Work and Family Care in Japan (Part II): What is the Challenge after Reforming the Long-term Care Leave System? (PDF:973KB)
- Combining Work and Family Care in Japan (Part I): Why do Women Leave Jobs at the Stage of Childbirth? (PDF:342KB)
2018
- Gender Segregation at Work in Japanese Companies: Focusing on Gender Disparities in Desire for Promotion (PDF:377KB)
- Work Style Reform Bill Enacted: Discussions Underway at the Council on the Contents of Specific Procedures (PDF:345KB)
- Industry and Female Managers: Insights for Promoting Women's Active Participation in the Workplace (PDF:372KB)
- Fixed-Term Contract Employees and Intra-Firm Wage Gaps: Focusing on the Reasons Why Companies Use Them (PDF:484KB)
- Allocation and Transfer in Japan (PDF:422KB)
2017
- Elderly Employment in a Society of Population Decline (PDF:1.13MB)
- Policy Challenges for the Introduction of AI and Other New Technologies: Report of MHLW’s Committee on Basic Labour Policy (PDF:242KB)
- Binding Effect of Unilaterally Modified Rules of Employment Introducing a Performance-based and Ability-based Wage System: The Trygroup Case (PDF:163KB)
- The 2019 Shunto in the Context of the JTUC-Rengo Wage Hike Summary Report (PDF:303KB)
- Does the Unilateral Discontinuance of Dues Check-Off by a Local Public Entity Constitute Unfair Labor Practices?: The National Government and Central Labor Relations Commission vs. Osaka City (Dues Check-Off) Case (PDF:218KB)
- The Leakage of Trade Secrets (Customer Data) by the Employees of Contractors: The Benesse Corporation Customer Data Leakage Case (Criminal Case) (PDF:286KB)
- Basic Information on Recent Elderly Employment Trends in Japan (PDF:872KB)
- Recruitment and Hiring in Japan (PDF:1.05MB)
- Government Decides "Action Plan for the Realization of Work Style Reform" : Relevant Laws To Be Amended Aimed at Overtime Limits and Equal Pay for Equal Work (PDF:640KB)
- One in Every Three Workers Experienced "Power Harassment": MHLW is Taking Steps to Prevent It (PDF:641KB)
Related Information
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