Japan’s labour ministry says it confirmed cases of illegal overtime work at more than 10,000 business places across Japan in fiscal 2021.
Despite increasing wages, digitalisation is seen as the most popular strategy among Japanese firms to address the labour crunch.
Businesses are hesitant to raise wages amid the global economic outlook and increased risk of a global recession.
A survey among 100 leading corporations found that 81 of them have no issue with staff taking up a second job to boost income.
Despite the loss, Forrester expects the green economy to help make up for some losses as more countries commit to carbon neutrality.
While a record number of men took paternity leave in Japan last year, the figure still falls short of the government’s goal of reaching 30% by 2025.
The government wants firms to extend the practice of conducting human rights to their suppliers, clients, joint ventures and investment portfolios.
Japan’s unemployment rate June remained unchanged at 2.6%, down 0.3% year-on-year, with employment for non-regular workers rising by 0.9%.
The government has urged companies to raise wages on par with price hikes of around 2%, a level the central bank has set as its inflation target.
It aims to increase the number of startups in the country by 10 times over five years, further driving the nation’s economic growth.
About 25.6% of companies are heeding a government directive to allow employees to voluntarily work until they are 70 years old.
To retain and attract talent, 50.9% of SMEs have either implemented or plan to implement a raise in wages in fiscal year 2022.
83.3% of university seniors, scheduled to graduate next March, have secured job offers as of July 1, including some who have received multiple offers.
According to a World Economic Forum report, Japan has the largest gender gap in East Asia and Pacific, with women unrepresented in the workforce.
A recent survey has shown that more than 70% of Japanese companies are currently not implementing working from home for their employees.
The government hopes that the move will help foster greater diversity in the country’s work practices and encourage talent to move into growth areas.
The move, expected to speed up the recruitment process, comes as the government has designated June 1 as the start of the job hunting season.
There is a large gap between the length of paternal leave employers think is appropriate and that which male employees want to take.
The Cabinet has approved the first annual fiscal and economic policy blueprint that pledges aggressive investment in human resources.
The government will draw up a five-year plan by the end of this year to support startups and increase investments for their promotion by 10 times.
Companies will not have to publish how much their workers earn, only the difference in wages between male and female workers.
The government plans to offer workers relearning opportunities and new jobs, based on measures worth ¥400 billion over three years.
The government has initiated a plan to establish an organisation to serve as the national central body for regional gender equality centres.
Measures being considered to support the budget include companies and workers paying premiums to a child insurance system.
The most common reason new graduates gave for leaving a job within three years was that the “job was not a good match” (40.1%), according to a survey.
A survey, which covered 81 firms with 500 or more workers, found that 26 of the firms had their earnings returned to pre-pandemic levels.
The new regulation, expected to be mandatory from April next year, will affect some 4,000 listed businesses in the country.
SMEs have now indicated a willingness to accept the government’s decision on minimum wage increases due to a serious labour shortage and rising prices.
A number of Japanese companies are granting its workers flexible work options in a bid to attract and retain talent.
More Japanese companies are offering a four-day workweek so that their employees can have a better work-life balance.
