12 May, 2017
The Japanese government has for the first time announced a list
of over 300 businesses nationwide that have broken labor laws. Officials
want to protect employees from abuse and prevent "karoshi," or death by
overwork.
The list includes major companies such as advertising agency
Dentsu and electronics maker Panasonic, who are blamed for illegal
overtime. A local unit of Japan Post, a subsidiary of Japan Post
Holdings is accused of failing to report work-related injuries.
Companies
that abuse workers have been called “black” by the local media. The
problem intensified when a young worker at Dentsu committed suicide in
2015. The death was recognized as “karoshi,” encouraging Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe to push for labor reforms.
The list, which now has 334
companies, will be updated monthly. The term “karoshi” was introduced in
the 1970s and is still dominating the national headlines.
According
to Reuters quoting Japanese officials, not all companies under
investigation are included in the list. The names of companies are only
disclosed when the ministry decides doing so would help encourage
compliance and would be for the public good.
In March, Abe’s government proposed steps capping overtime and introducing better pay for part-time workers.
Experts
have said that the measures, which could be introduced by 2019, will
damage companies, already facing a labor shortage due to a rapidly aging
population. Lawyers and activists have said the measures are not enough
to protect workers.
The country has one of the highest life
expectancies in the world, at 83.3 years, as well as the highest suicide
rates. Last year, the number of suicides dropped below 22,000 for the
first time in 22 years.
Japanese national broadcaster NHK has calculated that suicides cost the economy $4 billion a year. RT
