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14 Prefectures Oppose Allowing Foreigners to Vote in Local Elections
Local assemblies in 14 of Japan’s 47 prefectures have adopted statements in opposition to giving permanent foreign residents in Japan the right to vote in local elections since the Democratic Party of Japan took power last year, a Kyodo News tally showed Monday. Before the launch last September of the new government under Prime Minister…
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Temps again get short end?
Labor bill loopholes may let manufacturers still have ‘disposable’ ranks The Hatoyama administration is working on an amendment to the job dispatch law in an effort to provide greater security to temporary workers hit by the economic slump. But observers worry that the Democratic Party of Japan-led ruling coalition is backing away from a campaign…
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College collapse angers overseas students
Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology deputy chief executive Elaine Bensted said the State Government’s priority was the students and ensuring they could continue their study in Adelaide. Meanwhile, a former director of GEOS Adelaide said the company acted as cash cow for the Japanese parent company. Gary Maserow, who resigned in October,…
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Unions seek standard pay hikes
Key corporate labor unions filed their wage demands for the year with management Friday, kicking off the year’s “shunto” spring wage negotiations. Their demands focus on maintaining regular pay hikes amid the country’s economic conditions and tough employment situation. Under a regular wage hike system, workers have so far been granted an automatic pay increase…
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Japan Wages Slump at Near-Record Pace of 6.1% as Bonuses Slide
Japan’s wages slumped at a near- record pace in December as employers pared workers’ bonuses, an indication that consumer spending is unlikely to drive the economic recovery. Monthly wages including overtime and bonuses slipped 6.1 percent from a year earlier to 549,259 yen ($5,056), the Labor Ministry said today in Tokyo. Paychecks slumped an unprecedented…
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Uncertainty over language schools’ fate
The fate of up to 400 language students hangs in the balance with reports that their schools’ parent company has closed its Australian schools. This week, eight Australian schools owned by GEOS in Japan closed but the fate of the company’s schools in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch remained uncertain, GEOS Auckland manager Stuart Binnie said.…
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New visa rule on insurance to be deleted
Aim is to ease foreigners’ concerns The Immigration Bureau is planning to change a new guideline for foreign residents to ease concerns that those without social insurance will be forced to choose between losing their visa and entering the insurance system, a bureau official said Monday. But some foreigners warn the move won’t be enough…
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English language schools under threat of closure
The Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) says it will protect the 2,300 students affected by the possible closure of a number of English language schools across Australia. Nine companies associated with GEOS, which operates the schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, and Brisbane, went into voluntary administration late last week. The authority discovered that…
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Eight English schools won’t reopen: E&Y
The voluntary administrators of eight English language schools say that the schools will not reopen because of the financial situation. Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins of Ernst & Young say they are working with the federal department of education and state government departments to find arrangements for the 2300 international students. The administrators were continuing…
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Collapsed GEOS language schools will not re-open as debts hit $10 million
Eight collapsed language schools owned by the Japanese-based GEO Group will remain shut, leaving the places of 2,300 students up in the air and 390 employees out of work. Administrators Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins of Ernst & Young said in a brief statement released yesterday that the financial position of the schools, which were…