Lawmakers have since escalated calls for a new relief package, with the idea of an extra budget valued at 30 trillion yen being floated around.
The recovery was attributed to hiring at pandemic-hit restaurants and retailers as the state of emergency was lifted in some areas.
The proportion of people working completely remotely in a recent week in July stood at 11.6%, down from 18.5% in April.
The labour ministry has recommended raising the national average minimum wage by 3.1% to 930 yen (US$8.43) per hour.
David Atkinson, a member of the government's growth strategy panel, has called for minimum wages to be raised by at least 3% in fiscal 2021.
The government is preventing vaccination programme at workplaces from being concentrated in major cities.
To speed up the vaccination rate in the country, a nationwide plan allows companies and universities to run their own vaccination drives.
Vaccination in the country is getting a shot in the arm as thousands of companies start inoculating their employees.
The government is supporting the proposal to let employees choose a four-day work week in its annual economic policy guideline.
40.2% of Japanese people aged 60 and above want to work or continue in their jobs, a government survey has found.
Across the country, Japan aims to achieve a national average of ¥1,000 per hour and narrow the pay gap between regions.
Fathers will be able to take a total of four weeks off within eight weeks of their child’s birth, and can choose to split the period into two breaks.
The increase was partly due to a 0.5% drop in the consumer price index, and a y-o-y rebound in part-timers’ compensation.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato has said the country will start vaccination for COVID-19 at work premises and universities beginning on June 21.
To encourage the flow of people from urban to regional areas, the government will raise the national average of minimum wages to ¥1,000 per hour.
Japan’s economy shrank an annualised 5.1% in Q1 as a slow vaccination rollout and a spike in COVID-19 cases hit spending on dining out and retail.
The proposals for higher wages could be reflected in the government’s mid-year policy guidelines, and will provide the basis for its fiscal year budget in 2022.
A Cabinet Office panel has concluded that a prolonged pandemic is likely to cause the gender gap to widen, and urged the government to act.
Companies in Miyagi, Osaka, and Hyōgo Prefectures were asked to adopt remote work arrangements to control the spread of COVID-19.
Financial incentives are offered to businesses that implement work from home (WFH) schemes to lower the number of people who commute to work.
The government is encouraging workers to relocate to less-populated areas of the country while still employed by businesses based in Tokyo.
Businesses are hoping to create an environment where workers can make vaccination appointments easily, which will hasten the vaccination process.
Staff working from locations other than their offices accounted for 19.2% of all workers in Japan in April, which is almost unchanged from levels in July 2020.
Japan’s SMEs and some members of the ruling party are opposing prime minister Yoshihide Suga's proposal to increase the minimum wage.
A survey carried out from late March to early April saw 40 companies saying that they have increased or plan to increase mid-career hiring.
The labour ministry is advocating for companies to adopt digital payrolls within the current fiscal year, though safety concerns remain.
A labour union, representing low-paid essential workers across different sectors in Japan, has urged for minimum wages to be raised.
Inflation-adjusted real wages, a key measure of households' purchasing power, rose 0.2% year-on-year in February, according to the labour ministry.
The Cabinet has approved bills requiring companies to retain their workers until they are 70 years old, effectively raising the retirement age from 65 to 70.
Tokyo and neighbouring prefectures are mandating food-and-beverage businesses to close earlier to reduce the risk of a rebound of pandemic cases.
