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Foreigner suffrage, separate surnames stir passions in poll runup
Whether to grant permanent foreign residents voting rights for local-level elections and allow married couples to keep their respective surnames have become contentious issues ahead of the July 11 Upper House election. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan, which advocates the introduction of foreigner suffrage and separate surnames for married couples if desired, faces strong…
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Health Checks – They’re mandatory! Interac ordered to obey the law
Cross-posted from the General Union in Osaka: 5 Jul 2010 Health Checks – They’re mandatory! Interac ordered to obey the law Industrial Health & Safety Act For many westerners, the idea of a state mandated health check smacks of a nanny state, and we are often reluctant to submit to the tests. While not all…
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Foreign talent feeling gypped by top agency
Inagawa Motoko Office, one of the largest and oldest show business agencies catering to foreign performers in Japan, recently came under fire from some of its registered artists for not paying them in a timely manner for work they have done. In recent interviews with The Japan Times, 10 people registered with IMO said those…
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Opening Japan’s Immigration Door
Buried in the government’s new growth strategy is a short section calling for an easing — albeit slight — in Japan’s ultra-tight immigration restrictions. It’s a small gesture, but symbolically significant for a nation that has been slow to open its borders, despite a shrinking native population. The Kan administration hopes to “double the number…
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Workplace bans on beards raise hairy questions
In May, the city of Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, banned all male municipal employees from sporting beards in the office on the grounds that public servants should look decent. The city took the action after some residents complained about its bearded workers. In response to the news, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said it had…
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95% fear for Japan’s future
According to an Asahi Shimbun survey, about 95 percent of Japanese are worried about Japan’s future, while 62 percent say the nation is being rapidly overtaken by other countries. Asked about their future vision for Japan, 51 percent said they hope to see a society that promotes economic wealth through hard work, while 43 percent…
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RCS ALTs Declared to Management
Today, RCS members of the Tozen ALT Branch historically declared their union membership to RCS management and submitted a list of nine demands along with a call to the company to begin collective bargaining talks with Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union on June 30, 2010 [rescheduled for July 16th, 2010 at company request]. The demands…
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柏のＡＬＴ偽装請負：英語授業７月再開 役割分担明確化 ／千葉
柏市立の小中学校全６１校で英語を教えていた外国人指導助手（ＡＬＴ）について厚生労働省千葉労働局が違法な「偽装請負」と認定した問題で、是正を指導された柏市教委は２８日、英語の授業を７月初旬に再開すると発表した。従来通りの業務委託契約だが、授業で外国人講師と日本人教師の受け持ち時間を区切り、教師からの指示命令をなくすことで違法状態とならないようにするという。
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Groups push for better refugee treatment
Organizations supporting people seeking asylum in Japan urged the government Monday to improve the treatment of refugees at immigration control centers, two of which have seen hunger strikes by detainees this year. The groups, including Amnesty International Japan, say the Justice Ministry’s policies, including mandatory detention of asylum seekers and long periods of detention without…
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７月上旬に授業再開 柏ＡＬＴ是正指導 業務委託、厳密に運用
外国語指導助手（ＡＬＴ）の業務請負契約をめぐり、柏市が千葉労働局から「偽装請負」に当たるとして是正指導を受けた問題で、市は二十八日、業務委託方式によって暫定的に七月上旬から授業を再開すると発表した。